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HAPPY NEWS YEAR!

TWENTY-FIFTEEN! Good grief, can it be? Happy new year - again - from this old retiree, And his erstwhile colleagues on the People Paper...

French wine makers are not saying "cheers" over the President's inauguration menu Monday. (Stock photo)
French wine makers are not saying "cheers" over the President's inauguration menu Monday. (Stock photo)Read moreistock

TWENTY-FIFTEEN! Good grief, can it be?

Happy new year - again - from this old retiree,

And his erstwhile colleagues on the People Paper

Whose input all year has been feeding this caper.

Greetings, Mayor Nutter, we wish you success (Especially while hosting His Holiness).

Your predecessors, too, we wish them well:

Green, Goode, Street and ex-Guv Rendell.

Season's greetings, if you please,

To the many mayoral wannabes:

Abraham, Oliver, Tony Williams, Gillen,

Clarke (?), Diaz, Trujillo (and others willin').

Now let's get away from City Hall;

Happy new year, one and all.

To the guy who runs the schools, Bill Hite

(Problems? Man, they're out of sight!);

To the guy who runs almost everything else:  

David L. Cohen. Ring out wild bells

For Chief Charles Ramsey and Philly's Finest,

For Guv-elect Tom Wolf (his non-royal highness),

For Congresspersons Brady, Schwartz, Fattah

And newbie Brendan Boyle (it's Alyson's last hurrah),

For His Eminence, Archbishop Charles Chaput,

For Harris Steinberg, Ray Perelman, Susanna Foo,

For Comcast's Robertses, Ralph and Brian. Then,

For our college prexies - Amy Gutmann of Penn,

Temple's Neil Theobald, Drexel's John Fry,

Among others. Hail, Terry Gross (of 'HYY),

Seventy's David Thornburgh (our best to your dad),

That matinee idol Cooper (the boy known as Brad).

Greetings, Mattlemans, Herm and Marciene,

And daughter Ellen Kaplan, SRC chief Bill Green,

Ancient boxer Bernard Hopkins, Tina Fey,

Sam Katz, Pat Croce, Sidney Kimmel, Doctor J,

Wall-writer Jane Golden, the Zoo's Vik Dewan,

Village Band maestro Yannick Nezet-Seguin,

Bart Blatstein, Sonny Hill, Johnny Doc. Let us greet

Marc Lamont Hill, M. Night Shyamalan, Dom Streater,

Vanguard's John Bogle, Kenny Gamble, Jon Saidel,

C.B. Kimmins, Lorene Cary, Daryl Hall,

Dodo Hamilton, Jerry Mondesire, Manny Stamatakis,

Joe Zuritsky, Jill Scott, Vince Fumo (welcome back). Is

That Faye Moore, Kal Rudman, Mark Vetri? Hosanna

To Questlove, Joe Neubauer, Lola Falana,

Jerry Blavat, Tom Knox, David Girard-diCarlo,

Kevin Washington, Will Smith, Lily Yeh, Stephen Starr. O,

All hail Paul Levy, Jon Bon Jovi, Rosemarie Greco,

Sister Scullion, Bilal Qayyum, Judge Phyllis Beck. O,

Joy to Bernard Watson, Joe Vignola, Mark Segal,

Dawn Staley, Coach Chip Kelly (and every Eagle).

Hi, Sinatraphile Sid Mark, folk maven Gene Shay,

Librarian Siobhan Riordan, Seth Williams (our D.A.),

Estelle Richman, Ruben Amaro (what's with the Phils?),

Hail, City Council (they debate and pass bills),

Jose Garces, Dwight Evans, Tim Rub (Museum of Art)

Alan Butkovitz, Shelly Yanoff, movie star Kevin Hart,

Ron Rubin, Donna Cooper, Andre Watts, Herb Magee,

The Flyers and Sixers (our symbols of futility?),

Feather Houstoun, Lisa Scottoline. Is

That Franny Rizzo, Charles Pizzi, Mike DiBerardinis,

Henry Nicholas, Judith von Seldenek, Pedro Ramos,

Larry Magid, ex-Justice McCaffery (call him Seamus)?

Yo, Pat Gillespie, Nick DeBenedictis, Helen Gym,

Marty Weinberg, Brian Tierney (can't forget him),

Sheriff Jewell Williams, Carl Dranoff, Camille Paglia,

Opera boss David Devan, Dennis Alter, Cheri Honkala,

Neil Oxman, our firefighters (and their boss, Derrick Sawyer),

Lance Haver, Jane Pepper, Tom Kline (superlawyer),

Judy Wicks, architects Venturi and Scott-Brown,

John Gallery, Meryl Levitz (she touts our town).

Greetings to Barbara Weisberger, Joe Torsella,

David Haas, Pete Matthews, Patti LaBelle. A

Salute to Jeremy Nowak, Celeste Zappala, Neil Stein,

"Philly Jesus," Ron Castille. Sing "Auld Lang Syne"

With Jim Tayoun, Blanka Zizka, Georges Perrier,

Ramona Africa, Chuck Peruto. Happy holiday

To Leon Huff, Tom Leonard, actor Kevin Bacon.

What a joyful noise we've all been makin'!

Whether you're listed or not (and should have been),

A joyous new year to you and your kin.

Greetings from those whose names you see

On this page to the left, and, of course, from me.

- Don Harrison