IT’S A new year and a new decade. The decade of the aughts began January 1, 2000, and ended December 31, 2009. The tens began January 1, 2010, and will end December 31, 2019. That is how we calculate decades. We use the third digit in the year to define the decade.

Do you remember how we began this decade? Do you remember the Y2K scare? All the computers were going to go crazy when the date rolled over to 2000, because many older programs had never planned for a set of years that didn’t begin with the familiar “19” of the 20th century years. Billions of dollars were spent preparing for Y2K. There were survivalists who were certain the fabric of society would tear apart, and only hiding in the mountains of Utah or Idaho would assure survival.

Then 2000 rolled over, and nothing happened. Not since the Comet Kohoutek made its insignificant trip across the night sky has any buildup resulted in such a fizzle. Both Y2K and Kohoutek have an important lesson for us, however: don’t get too excited about fears of gloom and doom.

THE DECADE of the aughts has been one of dubious distinctions. I call it the “me” decade. It’s been about the complete fascination with self that society has developed. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Blackberry, iPhone — these seem driven by people worshipping themselves. Even the hook-up sites, such as E-harmony, are jokingly called “Me Harmony” to describe them and what they do.

If you are buried in your palm pilot or cell phone, you’re missing out on life. If you text while you drive, you’re a danger to yourself and others. If you can’t sit in a restaurant and eat a meal without talking on your phone, you’re rude and thoughtless. Get your head out of your hand and interact with the real people who actually matter in your life.

That waiter who is bringing you food is a real person. So is the cook who cooked it, and the business owner who greets you at the door. Those people in cars driving beside you are real people. They matter. You have a duty to be civil with them.

That BFF (best friend for life) you text with all the time? You won’t even talk to them in 10 years. But your parents, your siblings, your friends next door? They’ll all still be in your life in 10 years. They’ll matter when you’ve replaced that BFF with the next one, and the next one.

Our cell phones and other hand-held devices are very utilitarian, but they must be our tools, not our masters. I don’t even have my ringer working on my cell phone. I don’t like being annoyed by that ringing sound at inopportune times, so I have long had mine set on vibrate.

I use my cell phone, but I don’t let it use me. I answer it when it is appropriate to answer it, and get back to it when that is better. I don’t interrupt someone I’m talking with in person to talk to someone who calls my cell phone, unless it’s an important call that I need to take right then.

OUR NEW decade can be something more than the last one has been. We can have a return to caring more about the people we pass by every day. Burying our heads while we walk, commute, drive or eat deprives us of human contact we all need.

Make this decade one in which you bury your head in your own palm less, and acknowledge the real people in your life more. If you want to experience life, there’s an “app” for that, too. It’s called conversation, and real people use it to acknowledge one another in daily interactions.

© 2010, Jim “Pappy” Moore, All Rights Reserved.

Jim “Pappy” Moore is a native son of East Texas who still makes the piney woods his home. oaktreefm58@juno.com