People have many different ways of showing happiness and celebrating.
New Year’s Eve is a perfect example.
Many of us plan to be with good friends, either at home or enjoying dinner at a restaurant. Or at a friend’s house for a party.
Others enjoy larger parties, like the largest one in the world, The New Year’s Eve Party in Times Square, New York City. Watching the ball drop at the moment of the New Year, followed by tons of confetti dropped from above is the highlight and big thrill of the night. If being in the midst of huge crowds is your idea of fun, you’ll be very happy there. There is no larger crowd getting together to scream, shout, jump around and do whatever else people in large happy crowds do.
The police presence will be enormous. They will search every bag and will not allow any alcoholic beverages to enter the area. Screening the entrance to the area will be equivalent , and as exciting, as the TSA screening before boarding an airplane.
Uniformed police, mingling with the crowd will be armed. We are told not to be alarmed at all the uniformed and plain clothes police officers mingling with the crowd, carrying their automatic weapons.
Even on a stormy, rainy night like this New Year’s Eve promises to be, umbrellas are forbidden from the scene. Any umbrellas that are found will be confiscated! With the increased security around Times Square there is no chance of smuggling even a tiny mini umbrella into the area. Assisting the police in their surveillance will be a squadron of drones overhead. And there will be an armed presence of Homeland Security.
There will be NO public restrooms of any kind. If nature calls, well, deal with it! Is this scenario still holding some appeal to anyone? No wonder the huge majority of celebrants are teens and young adults. One young man from the Island of Jamaica said “I haven’t had anything to eat or drink since yesterday.” He’s in training for the hours of bathroom deprivation.
Doesn’t this sound like a fun New Year’s Eve? You know you’re getting older when this kind of adventure is no longer appealing. Does a quiet evening at home by the fireplace, munching snacks, eating carry-out dinners and watching fun movies appeal to anyone? It certainly does to me!
However you choose to celebrate, I wish you a Healthy and Happy 2019. May all the surprises coming to you in 2019 be good ones.
MorristownMemos 
Comments on: "CELEBRATION OR TORTURE?" (18)
Thanks for this reflection on the current requirements for the New Year’s event. I have yet to go to this event. but did go to the Thanksgiving parade for the first time three years ago and it was wonderful!
Happy New Year to you and Harveyl
Attending the Thanksgiving parade sounds like a wonderful experience; I have never seen it in person. Perhaps because it is in daylight and focuses on children it seems like a different kind of experience than New Year’s Eve. I’m glad you had such a good experience at the real event (as opposed to the TV version).
And Happy New Year to you and Dave.
Ronnie, I couldn’t agree more.I went once when I was in college (the Dark Ages when security wasn’t a concern.) That got crossed off my bucket list quickly even though I did not know what that meant those many years ago.
Anyone attending that event learned very quickly what that bucket list meant way back then.
As Dor, my sister of choice says, staying home with a bunch of snacks, coffee and the movie The Holiday on Netflix is my kind of celebration.
A lovely, descriptive post. Wishing you all the best, Ronnie, for 2019! Hugs. Xx 😊
Thanks for your lovely comment, Mal. How many New Year’s Eves have we been following each other’s blogs?
Eons! 🥰
Stay well!!!
Filet on my new Webber, cooking in the rain of course. Asparagus, taters and a nice bottle of red. Three bathrooms close by, what a gift for the elderly. Happy New Year my friend.
What a perfect way to celebrate the coming of a new year. We “elders” seem to share the same sense of enjoying peace and quiet in the company of those we care about.
Sounds perfect! We “elders” seem to agree with the way we like spending holidays: no noise, no strangers and no identity searches.
Did this as a 19-year old. Wasn’t fun then and still isn’t I’m sure. Happy New Year.
Never did it, but am happy to hear an honest opinion of what it’s really like.
An evening at home with Nachos and a Coke is about as much celebrating as I care to do. Those big crowds have never appealed to me at any age.
So this is not your idea of fun either???
I agree. I agree. I zgree.
So this is not your idea of fun either?