Here’s a bonus entry reflecting on some past new years as we look forward to another designated calendrical cycle.
Years ago when I worked at the Historical Society of York County as a janitor, I had this terrific crush on Nora the librarian. She was just a few years older than me, but was involved with the curator who I would now define as a narcissist but then I thought was just an ass. He was going to be out of town NYEve and I was attending a party with the Young Adult Ministry people I was hanging with, so would she like to accompany me? She did!
I picked her up at her house, and her mother greeted me with great friendliness; maybe she thought I was going to get Nora away from the blowhard boyfriend. At the party, people kept telling me how nice she was and congratulated me, but I had to explain she was just a date and not a love interest (unfortunately).
At midnight I did give her a cheek kiss, and that was it. A little later I took her home and she remained faithful to her “boyfriend.” My loss!
Another NYEve saw me visiting a married couple (one of whom reads my blog—I got her in their divorce). At midnight we clinked glasses and the male of the couple said, “There’s another year shot to hell.” Not the usual sentiment for such an occasion, but completely in keeping with his mindset.
And of course there was 2000. While many looked forward to a new millennium, I maintained that that didn’t start until 2001. But of course, while we tried to be optimistic about the new year, we also had our stashed canned goods and water in case the Y2K bug did cripple the world’s computer systems and suddenly we couldn’t flush our toilets. Luckily that did not come to pass, though in the 21st Century we’ve had to contend with trolls on social media, terrorism, and AI. Just delaying the inevitable, I guess.
And on that relatively positive thought: Happy New Year!
MUSOFYR 