by Pa Rock
Septuagenarian
As I write this, it is just before daylight on the final day of the calendar year. 2022 is coming to a close and the New Year of 2023 is waiting patiently in the wings. Today will mark my personal 75th New Year's Eve as a breathing resident of the Planet Earth.
The final week of this year was a rough one with all of the winter storm deaths in the Buffalo, New York, area - 37 at last count - and other calamities about the country and the globe - and particularly Russia's on-going war on Ukraine.. Lots of people, of course, expired over the course of the year, as happens every year, and a few were close friends and relatives of mine. All will be missed by someone.
Overnight news icon Barbara Walters passed away, as did former Nazi Youth and Catholic Pope Benedict XVI. Walters was a formidable newscaster and interviewer who helped to push the boundaries for women in journalism, and Benedict will be best remembered as the first Pope in six centuries to resign from office. We all deteriorate with age, and it would be good if we all could learn from Pope Benedict's example and begin sharing or passing on some of our duties and responsibilities as we age.
Tonight at midnight on the East Coast an enormous glass ball made of Waterford Crystal and LED lights will drop in New York City to mark the end of one year and the beginning of another. It is a tradition that goes back more than a century when the publisher of The New York Times initiated it to bring attention to his publication and to the piece of real estate - Times Square - named in honor of the famed newspaper.
Over the years several other major American cities have gotten into the act of dropping something significant to mark the official passage of one year into another. Although I lived in the "Valley of the Sun" (Phoenix and its environs) for several years, I seldom made it over to Tempe. But the city of Tempe apparently has a New Year's tradition to honor its Hispanic heritage. The city has a display of a large tortilla chip dropping into a big bowl of salsa. That comes with a party ten blocks long and four blocks wide - and two fireworks shows!
A hog is dropped in Fayetteville, Arkansas - safely, I am assuming - at the stroke of midnight. Woo pig sooie!
And, in, Key West, Florida, a city that I have visited on a few occasions, there are two "dropping" traditions: One is the island's official New Year's celebration which features a six-foot Queen Conch shell dropped six meters onto the roof of the famous "Sloppy Joe's" bar and grill - and the other is an unofficial celebration at a local gay bar where a ruby slipper carrying a prominent drag queen is dropped to mark the arrival of the New Year. It is doubtful that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will be in attendance at either event.
If you would like to locate a nearby New Year's Eve "drop" to attend this evening, the internet site "Wikipedia" has a listing of many special "drops"celebrating the event throughout the country and listed by state.
But whether you witness something being dropped or not, have a safe evening and a wonderful New Year! (And please do not party too loudly, because I will probably be asleep!)
Happy New Year from Pa Rock and Rosie!
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