New years 2007. Who would've thought we'd make it this far? 2007!!!!! That sounds like we should be flying around in cars and having robots do all the housework and....and....I don't know......future stuff. I remember when I was a kid and thinking of the year 2000. I thought, "Well....I'll be an adult with a wife and kids. And wear a fedora and have a jacket with patches on the sleeve and smoke a pipe." Y'know like Jim Anderson and Ward Cleaver and....my father. Didn't happen. Except for the married part for a while. The "new year" is one of those wonderful times. It's like spring training in baseball. Everyone's going to the playoffs. Everyone's batting .333. Everyone's turning perfect double plays. And then the season starts. I think the problem with New Year's resolutions is we tend to get a little carried away. Instead of trying to lose twenty pounds and walk five miles every day, how about five pounds and two miles three times a week. A lot more realistic. But there's something about a fresh start, isn't there. New baseball season, new job, new girlfriend, new car, new.....YEARS!!!!!
I mentioned in an earlier blog that I lost my parents on New Years Eve. About ten years apart. Go figure. So that night has always been a little weird, reflective....melancholic....to a degree.
I've spent most of the last thirty five New Years Eves on a stage in some bar/party being the "entertainment." And I liked it that way. Once you get past the early years of drinking till you barf, forcing a good time with your pals, and sometimes really having a good time with your pals....I'd just as soon be out making a buck or staying home with a friend or two. I've spent "the night" in a freezing Times Square, a stage in Bermuda, an emergency room, around a poker table, on front porches banging pots and pans.........just like you.
And then there's the countdown. When you're the band on New Year's there's a lot of pressure to get the count right. And there's always someone who jumps out around 11:45 and starts counting down. 10! 9! 8!....... Once that gets going it's impossible to stop. So I've always just rolled with it. But then ten minutes later there's Dick Clark on tv live from NYC and....hey....what the....? Uh.....happy new year.....again? And the playing of Auld Lang Syne and the kissing of someone and trying to have money in your hand. I think that's an Irish thing. One New Years Eve I was playing at the Dunellen Hotel in Dunellen, NJ. At midnight this girl comes up to the stage and plants one on me Well....did you ever have a boa constrictor crawl down your throat......with your girlfriend observing from the audience. That was a long ride home.
I remember one New Years Eve ('67 - '68?) when one of the boys got so snockered we had to bring him home in a wheebarrow and unload him into the back door of his parents house. I can still hear his sister's shrieks. Man, we howled over that one. Another New Year's my pals and I rode around in my Volkswagen looking for, but never finding ,a home for the night. Six guys singing Auld Lang Syne in a cul de sac in Piscataway. A Boone's Farm Apple wine....... and whatever else was floating around......... toast... and hello 1969.......'70? Y'know I still remember that one. We laughed a lot!
So what does 2007 mean anyway? It's just a number some guys decided on one day. And the Chinese are WAY ahead of us. But it comes at a good time. What with the cold and the fuel bills, and wet feet but....did you notice the days are getting slightly longer? Hello summer!!!!!! I heard a song lyric today that said,"Twilight is the loneliest part of the day." I'd agree. Except maybe I'd add ...."a winter's twilight."
I had a really nice Christmas. I intend to have a really nice New Years Eve. (No gig this year...anyone need a band?) And I'm a'gonna have a great 2007. Why? 'Cause I said so. It's that easy. I'm gonna drop five, walk more, finish my cd, get in a good band, date Pam Anderson......uh.....get in a good band.
Here's hoping your '07 is filled with dreams come true. Health, happiness....puppies, body surfing, snowball fights, trivial pursuits and.....love. Lots of it. Give it. Receive it. It's all you need.
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