DN Editorial: 2011: The year in Philadelphia names

SO, WHAT awaits us? What is due,

In the coming year, 2-0-1-2?

At Dilworth Plaza, are things quiet

With no one there to Occupy it?

Hello, Iggles, a "dream team," indeed.

(They'll be back - but will Andy Reid?)

A new chant for the U. of P. would be great:

"We're Penn, we're Penn, we're NOT Penn State!"

Mayor Nutter, have a ball

In four more years at City Hall.

Happy New Year to Ed Rendell,

To Vince Fumo (fuming in his cell),

To Arlene Ackerman - unemployed, alas

(Time to count all that money she has),

To the brothers Street - Milton and John,

Sam Katz, Bill Gray, Frankie Avalon,

Bart Blatstein (keep on gentrifying),

Bill Marrazzo (keep WHYY-ing),

Commissioner Ramsey and our men in blue,

Our new archbishop, Charles Chaput;

To City Council, with lots of new faces

(No Anna Verna to put it through its paces),

To Comcast's Robertses (father and son),

And David L. Cohen (his job's never done),

The Mattlemans, Herm and Marciene,

Penn's Amy Gutmann, ex-mayor Bill Green.

To Congresspersons Brady, Schwartz, Fattah:

Season's greetings, falalalala.

And to Wilson Goode, Sinatra-phile Sid Mark,

Mike DiBerardinis, of Fairmount Park,

Wall-writer Jane Golden, Paul Levy, Larry Summers,

(Happy strutting to all the Mummers);

To Happy Fernandez, Gamble and Huff,

Boxer Bernard Hopkins (still hanging tough),

To Seventy's Zack Stalberg (my ex-boss). We

Hail Camille Paglia, Lana Felton-Ghee,

Larry Magid, Terry Gillen, Seth Williams (our D.A.),

Vanguard's John Bogle, the Folk Festival's Gene Shay,

Pedro Ramos, Arlen Specter, Neil Stein, Jimmy Binns,

Jim Tayoun, Bernard Watson, Lily Yeh, Harold Prince,

Estelle Richman, the Art Museum's Tim Rub,

Everyone in the philanthropists' club:

Dodo Hamilton, Sidney Kimmel, Gerry Lenfest,

Dennis Alter, Raymond Perelman and the rest.

All hail Will Smith, Nick DeBenedictis,

The Phils' Cliff Lee (we're glad he picked us),

David Girard-diCarlo, coach Herb Magee,

David Haas, preservationist John Gallery,

New author Jerry Blavat (The Geator to you),

John Dougherty, Dick Sprague, Sister Scullion, too;

Rosemarie Greco, Sonny Hill, Tina Fey,

Rebecca Rimel, Neil Oxman, Kal Rudman, Doctor J.

Temple's Ann Weaver Hart, a sad farewell.

Cheers, Bob Venturi, Dawn Staley, Jon Saidel.

Rejoice with Mark Segal, Phyllis Beck, Helen Gym,

Manny Stamatakis (we can't forget him),

Alan Butkovitz, M. Night Shyamalan,

Peter Liacouras (sorry you're ailin'),

Marwan Kreidie, Jose Garces, Vic Damone.

Goodbye and good luck, Marge Tartaglione.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

Greetings to Siobhan Riordan, Jill Scott,

Ron Rubin, Cheri Honkala, Bilal Qayyum,

Charles Pizzi. It's no time for gloom,

Dwight Evans, Penny Bach, Jerry Mondesire,

Every Sixer (except Hip-Hop), every Flyer,

Tom Kline, the Zoo's Vikram Dewan.

Welcome, Maestro Yannick Nezet-Seguin.

Joy, Isaiah Zagar, Carl Dranoff, Georges Perrier,

Jon Bon Jovi, Lynn Marks. Hip, hip, hooray

For Shelly Yanoff, Laurada Byers,

For the heroes who fight our city's fires,

SEPTA's Faye Moore, Lance Haver, Kevin Bacon,

Pat Croce (what a joyous noise we're makin'),

Derek Gillman, of the Barnes (wherever it may be),

John Perzel, Feather Houstoun, Joe Zuritsky,

C.B. Kimmins, Joe Vignola, Peter Nero,

Donna Cooper, Jimmy Rollins (he's our hero).

Yes, your name should be here, too,

But space is limited, so to all of you,

On behalf of my co-workers, past and present:

Have a great year, productive and pleasant.

Tidings of joy beyond comparison

From this old curmudgeon. The name's

- DON HARRISON