It appears that the 2000 election may finally be over, although I wouldn’t be surprised if Ralph Nader swoops in with some last minute lawsuits of his own. After the Supreme Court decision, I thought life would get back to normal. On Wednesday night, I settled down to watch West Wing, the TV show where President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) out-Presidents both Al Gore and George W. Bush every week. But wouldn’t you know it? The show was pre-empted by Al Gore addressing the nation. Please, will somebody cancel this reality show and give me back my fictional President?

I ran into Jo Voight Wednesday morning. She was wearing one of those “I Voted Today” stickers on her sweater. She watched the Supreme Court results on television Tuesday night, hoping she would be able to finally put closure to this 35-day election. But when there was neither a concession nor a victory party, she went to bed.

“Nothing happened, so I thought maybe I still had another chance to vote,” she told me.

Nevertheless, as the court’s decision was finally deciphered, it became clear that George W. Bush was about to become the nation’s 43rd President.

At My Place Restaurant Wednesday morning, patrons were still talking about the news from the night before. There were clear signs of relief, frustration, and, in one case, anger, all over. Edwin Dudeck admits he is glad the whole thing is finally over. Now he can go back to watching The Waltons on TNN. “I’ve been watching this on TV non-stop for over a month,” he told me.

Hours before the Supreme Court announcement, Newtown was concerning itself with a major windstorm that tore through the region Tuesday morning. Trees fell on homes and on wires, prompting Newtown’s volunteer firefighters to spring into action. Dispatcher B.J. Halstead was also busy, “toning out” 25 different fire calls throughout the day.

Speaking of firefighters, several of them were forced to scale an icy, 1,000-foot driveway Saturday night to reach a chimney fire on Aunt Park Lane. The steep climb left some of the volunteers short of breath when they reached the top. Among them was Fire Marshal George Lockwood, who showed he is still earning his money in the final weeks before his retirement.

Karen Finlayson’s 6 am men’s fitness class had a surprise for her this week. To celebrate the fact that the personal fitness trainer, who moved here from Canada, is getting her US citizenship on Friday, her entire class showed up to exercise in boxer shorts decorated with American flags.

The Rotary Club is looking for four persons who would like to spend four weeks in Taiwan on a cultural exchange trip beginning March 24. The volunteers will live with local families and visit businesses there, exchanging information. Travel expenses, lodging, and food will be provided. Persons who are interested should be between the ages of 25 and 40, be in their occupation for two years, and live or work in southern Connecticut. For more information, call Ed Osterman at 426-8530.

Sarah Mannix  celebrated her 92nd birthday on December 10. She celebrated with Johnny Leibold, Janet Hovias, Sue White, Betty and Jim Osborne, Debbie Osborne, Bunny and Dick Madden, and Ben-Du, her caretaker.

People are still talking about the huge upset pulled off last Saturday night by the Newtown High School girls’ basketball team. The Nighthawks defeated Norwalk, the state’s top-ranked team, 60-52. Newtown, 2-0, won last year’s South-West Conference (SWC) title and everyone is back, so the impressive victory should not come as a huge surprise. Either way, it was another great win for Greg Simon and his talented bunch, which is now ranked fourth in the state polls.

Well, this year is slipping away from us. Only a little more than two weeks until the arrival of the real millennium, though I don’t think people will be making much of a fuss over it. I’m looking ahead to the year 2001 – to September in particular, when in nine months time we’ll all get to see what those pregnant chads produce. In the meantime, I’ll be hanging in here with all the other chads, so be sure to…

Read me again.