It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

1991 has come and gone and will soon be forgotten. But few Pennsylvanians will be able to forget the year that was.

It seemed the state and many of its residents were in the national spotlight more than ever before.

For those of you who might have forgotten, the year started off with a literal bang. The Persian Gulf War caught the attention of the whole world. And when the ground war started in February, thousands of Pennsylvanians' lives were in jeopardy.

Some of those Pennsylvanians included the 442nd Field Service Company based in nearby Bellefonte. And when a Scud missle slammed into a U.S. Army barracks, it was men from Pennsylvania who died.

Better state news came from the political arena.

Perhaps the most shocking and intriguing story of the year was the death of Sen. John Heinz after his plane collided in mid-air with a helicopter. Heinz had been in State College the night before.

That left the task of finding someone to fill the empty Senate seat to Gov. Robert P. Casey (who would later let loose a bombshell about about his health, but more on that later).

Many had expected Casey to quickly replace the Republican senator with a fellow Democrat for the interim. Well, he filled it with a loyal Democrat, but the process was anything but quick.

For weeks the network news cameras were pointed toward Harrisburg waiting for the answer to the big question. Finally the answer came:

Harris Wofford.

Harris Wofford?

It soon became obvious that Casey wasn't big on the name recognition thing. Harris Wofford was not exactly a household name. But in the months to come he would be seen on seemingly every television station in his bid to win the special Senate election against former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh.

The campaign once again brought national attention to the state -- at least in part because there weren't any other senatorial elections on tap. Unbelievably, Wofford defeated the former governor, primarily because his platform included support for a national health care system, which in itself has gotten national attention.

Pennsylvania became the calling cry for all Democrats -- who were hoping to send a message to President Bush that he should get his domestic act together.

Now back to Harrisburg and Casey's bombshell. The governor announced that he has a non-terminal form of a supposedly rare disease that has killed the mayors of both Erie and Pittsburgh.

It has been nicknamed the "Mayors' Disease," but I wonder if it should be re-christened the "Pennsylvania Disease." According to doctors, Casey will live at least 10 more years. That should make everyone sleep better at night.

And there's still more (in abbreviated USA Today form):

-- In other news about dead politicians, 1991 marked the end for Frank Rizzo. He was once again running for mayor of Philadelphia. This left Ed Rendell to deal with the city of brotherly bankruptcy.

-- The University of Pittsburgh announced that outgoing President Wesley Posvar received a $3.3 million retirement package. A few days later, Penn State President Joab Thomas revealed his $200,004 annual salary. Now all that's left is for the University to open all of it's budget . . .

-- On June 19, the University's Hershey Medical Center announced that a practicing doctor there has the AIDS virus.

-- The next day, U.S. Rep. William Gray from Pennsylvania announced he would step down as House Majority Whip and become the president of the United Negro College Fund. He said the move would allow him to do more for minorities.

-- Meanwhile the state General Assembly received a severe and much-deserved thrashing during the so-called "Budget Debacle of 1991." The state was without a budget for 34 days while state employees continued working without pay. During the impasse, a skirmish broke out on the floor of the House of Representatives.

-- While they weren't trading punches, state politicians were busy trading constituents. In the wake of the 1990 census, legislators tried to come up with a new plan to divide the state's political districts.

So there's a little bit of what we Pennsylvanians faced last year. It was both the best and the worst of times, with a little variety to spice things up.

It certainly wasn't perfect.

But hey, there's always 1992.