"Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
And live every day as if it were your last."
Caught on film by FReeper Fotographer Flyer at one of last night's New Year's Eve parties are the following: Requiem for Truth, Kristen, Apackof2, Shethink13, Doctor Raoul, RMDupree, Mombonn, and DixieSass.
Looking very festive, everyone! Good job being surrounded by all those lovelies, Doctor Raoul! : )
(This is a doctored photo, with most of the FReepers' pictures taken
at the FR Inauguration Ball in DC in January, 2001.) :)
On this day, fifty-something years ago, Diver Dave and his twin brother were the first babies born in their city! (I first posted this newspaper clipping and the birthday greeting at the Canteen last year, but wanted to repost it here, because it's kinda special being the first baby of the new year.. and twice as special when it's twins!)
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You must have been a beautiful baby;
You must have been a beautiful child;
When you were only startin'
To go to kindergarten.....
I bet you drove the little girls wild. :^)
Happy Birthday, Dave!
Another First Baby born in her county ..... though YEARS later than Dave : ) ..... was ru4Liberty. Is there any wonder why she's such a firecracker now?! : )
Happy Birthday, Ru!
And let us never forget some other special babies, born on a day that America will never forget. Reposted from a year ago, from USA WEEKEND Magazine, December 28-30, 2001.
"Usually at this time, we await the arrival of the New Year's babies -- those infants born on Jan. 1, who symbolize the start of a new calendar. But a whole new era began Sept. 11. In this letter to a handful of the infants born that day, we at USA WEEKEND Magazine express our belief in the bright future they have every reason to call their own."
Dear Rhett, Kaitlyn, Charlotte, Jack, Anne-Sophie and Anastasya,
Welcome, a belated happy birthday and, most of all, thank you.
Thank you for accepting our invitation to be part of this very special photo essay on babies born Sept. 11, 2001. On a morning just a few weeks ago, one of our photographers came to each of your homes, roused you from your cradles and placed you in front of a camera. The results, published here on the last weekend of this momentous year, will be seen by millions today. And it is our hope that by witnessing the beautiful lives that began on that dark day, the readers of USA WEEKEND Magazine will recognize the promise you represent and celebrate it as we do.
On that terrifying morning in September -- your birthday -- people stood horrified as they saw images on TV they never, ever thought they would see. Rightly, they looked dumbfounded at each other and said, "Nothing will ever be the same. Everything has changed forever." It seemed that evil had won the battle against good and that the very fabric of American life had been irreparably torn.
Although many things did, indeed, change that day, most did not. Planes crashed and towers crumbled, but the essential freedoms and spirit that make this country grow were undiminished; in fact they were strengthened. Those wo hate our type of society thought that, by their heinous acts, the could weaken our nation. They thought that in a wounded United States children like you would face a dimmed future. But rest assured, children, you are Americans, and no terrorist act alters what that means.
It means you can grow up and become whatever you want; attent whatever church, temple or mosque you wish; marry whomever you love; listen to whatever music delights you; read whatever books you choose. Yowill vote in elections to determine who governs you. And if the elected no longer represent your views, you will vote them out of office. Charlotte, Anastasya, Ann-Sophie, and Kaitlyn, you will enjoy the same opportunities as Jack and Rhett. Together you represent the rainbow of races that make up this country's richness, each of you unique, all of you equal. Someday a few of you may even be asked to defend this way of life with which you have been blessed, just as others now are defending it for you.
All children are blessings, renewing hope and asserting that life goes on. But children like you are even more special, arriving at a time when dispair and loss of faith threaten to engulf an entire nation. Babies born on Dec. 7, 1941, or Nov. 22, 1963, were beacons of joy and affirmation when, for a brief and frightening momemt, it seemed our nation had been dealt an insurmountable blow. Of course, those newborn Americans became adults who understood that, although we were tested, we did not fail.
You will grow up and inevidtably see the footage of the terrible events that occurred the day you drew your first breath. As much as we would love to protect you from that, it is history; and you will be taught its lessons.
But the most important lesson is the one you will live every day. Like those other children born on days that live in infamy, you, too, will be vibrant testimonials to the persistence of the American sucess story and the failure of our opponents to bring it to an end.
So again, welcome, Kaitlyn, Charlotte, Rhett, Anne-Sophie, Jack and Anastasya. We wish you, infant citizens, a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. And we thank you for bringing irresistible joy to our pages -- and to our nation. ~~The editors
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Birth of Tha SYNDICATE, the philosophical heir to William Lloyd Garrison. 
