Is 2013 the Real 2012?

Apocalyptic fever is running high. A friend in the Bible Belt, who recently became “born again,” called me excitedly to tell me she was leaving me her house. “In case I suddenly vanish,” she confided.

Of course. She would be raptured up and I, a hardcore “One God” believer, would be left behind. How sweet of her to make preparations for the damned.

But as the projected date for the rapture came and went and disappointed, my friend abandoned her newfound religion.

Not so fast for the 2012-ers, however. The end of the world is still scheduled for December 21, 2012 according to those who buy into the Mayan prophecies, Planet X, Niburu, exponential solar flares – did I miss anything?

The scenarios are stunning -- tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, as the world comes crashing down around us. And should we awaken the morning of December 22 to find ourselves still alive, the ratcheting up of doomsday prophecies will deflate like a spent balloon.

And we just may find ourselves sucker-punched. But, lurking right under our noses is the specter of what may occur in 2013