Wineka column: Revelers look forward to Two Thousand and Ten; or will it be Twenty-Ten?

Kathryn Ambrose, Sarah Goodnight and Leane Blais take a photo of themselves at the base of the Belltower during the annual ringing in of the new year at the old presbyterian belltower in Salisbury. Photo by Jon C. lakey, Salisbury Post.

Geoffrey Hoy, was the first to ring the bell, during the annual ringing in of the new year at the old presbyterian belltower in Salisbury. Hoy just moved to Salisbury two months ago from Mayville, Wis. Photo by Jon C. lakey, Salisbury Post.

Crowds turned out for the annual ringing in the new year at the old presbyterian belltower in Salisbury. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

people ring the bell during the annual ringing in of the new year at the old presbyterian belltower in Salisbury. Photo by Jon C. lakey, Salisbury Post.

Monica "Momo" Ostroska sings during the annual ringing in of the new year at the old presbyterian belltower in Salisbury. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Folks in Salisbury and Rowan County partied into a new decade this morning with one burning question:

How do you say it?

What will be the preferred way, if any, of saying the year 2010?

Is it Twenty-Ten?

Or should it be Two Thousand-Ten, or even Two Thousand-and-Ten?

I conducted an informal poll Thursday night among the New Year's revelers who celebrated 2010's misty arrival at the 104-foot-tall Bell Tower.

The consensus was there is no consensus.

"I hadn't even thought about it," said Scott Howard of Salisbury. He paused a moment, then declared he will probably go with Twenty-Ten.

His wife, Debbie Fink-Howard, agreed with Scott that Twenty-Ten will catch on.

"Especially after the movie '2012,' " Debbie said, emphasizing "Twenty-Twelve."

The couple, who had their son, Luke-Austin, with them, said a quiet goodbye to 2009.

"It was a happy year, but I hope the new year is more profitable," Debbie said.

The Rev. Bob Morris and his wife, Colleen, came down on the side of Two Thousand-Ten, as did their grandson Corey Whitlatch, who is a Salisbury Police Explorer.

"2009 was not as good as 2010 will be," Colleen predicted. Family members had some health issues last year, and a son-in-law was out of work for seven months, she noted.

Carla Benson, Dalton Benson, Doug Shehan and Stacy Smith stood together enjoying hot cider and decided that they favored calling the new year Two Thousand-Ten.

Carla reported that 2009 "was not too terrible" for the family, and one thing to look forward to in 2010 was Dalton's turning 16. But he has to wait until December.

Perry Hood of Salisbury said Twenty-Ten sounds too futuristic. He prefers Two Thousand-Ten, but he added, "I'm probably going to be flexible, depending on who I talk to."

The Bell Tower New Year's celebration — something which has been going on since 1975 — had drawings for Downtown Dollars, singing by Momo and the selection of one person as the first bellringer when the countdown was complete.

The winning bellringer was Jeffrey Hoy, but everybody was given a turn afterward.

Emcee Karl Hales guided the good-sized crowd through the waiting.

At times he called the new year Twenty-Ten. But he also said Two Thousand-Ten.

He's flexible, too.

People across the country actually have been debating how to say 2010 for some time.

There are Facebook groups and Web sites dedicated to the question, which should prompt a New Year's resolution for these people.

Resolution No. 1: "Find something more productive to do with my life."

Many of the arguments for Twenty-Ten make the case for economy: It's only two words and three syllables.

Saying Two Thousand-Ten or Two Thousand-and-Ten takes extra words and syllables, the sloths say.

Another theory goes that, in the past, we've usually said Eighteen-Ten (1810) and Nineteen-Ten (1910). So it makes sense to say Twenty-Ten for 2010.

It's not, for example, the "Eighteen Hundred-and-Twelve Overture." It's the "Eighteen-Twelve Overture."

The other side of that debate is that we've been counting Two Thousand-Seven (2007), Two Thousand-Eight (2008) and Two Thousand-Nine (2009). Doesn't it follow that we should say Two Thousand-Ten?

A Website called "TwentyNot2000.com" warns that, "If we don't fix this now, we'll be stuck saying years the long way for the next 99 years."

I think the math is wrong, but the site's Fan Page has 17,000 fans.

I asked my wife how she would say 2010. She deferred her answer, explaining she first wanted to hear the year mentioned in a song. Then she started singing "In the Year 2525" for some reason.

Before my scientific survey at the Bell Tower Thursday, I walked around the newsroom gathering opinions on how the new year should be said.

Kathy Chaffin preferred Twenty-Ten, because she already had her personal slogan for the new year picked out: "Begin Again in Twenty-Ten." Only Kathy would have a slogan.

Shavonne Potts said she would go with Two Thousand-Ten. She fits into the group which contends we've been counting that way leading up to the new year, why change?

Hugh Fisher weighed in that he prefers Twenty-Ten, because it's faster and takes fewer syllables.

Paris Goodnight, who always has a weird slant on things, suggested that we call the new year Oh-Ten.

I said, "Oh, no."

Peggy Judd, who was visiting her husband, Jeremy, had an even stranger suggestion.

"I'm going to say Two-Zero-One-Zero, just to be obnoxious," she said.

Party-pooper.