December 31, 2023 Happy New Year!

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – Happy New Year!” Twenty-four people in the restaurant cheered. And with that, we celebrated an end to 2023 and the start of 2024.

But wait, it wasn’t quite done yet. There were three more hours to go. It was only new years in New York. or is it new year? Is it supposed to be new years or new year and why is it a capital? Really when we celebrate something that isn’t quite right should we capitalize it? And years might be more accurate because, hey, we are doing more than one, right? 

This celebrating New Year in New York is far too confusing for me.

But there we were toasting another year gone by. I guess it is a sign of getting old that we chose to toast the change of years at 9:00 pm instead of midnight. 

But it still didn’t feel right.

I know the important thing was we were there with our dear friends and it was all about the company. Still, for me, there is something about the strike of midnight to really launch the new year in style. 

Speaking of style, there I was wearing a suit and tie. And no one was newly married… or dead. 

We had a nice meal and felt satiated. But I did not feel like going home yet. After all, I was all dressed up with no place to go.

So we went to Whiski Jacks. I was definitely overdressed for Whiski Jacks.

The bar was full of revelers and the band was playing their hearts out. We found more friends and embraced the moment. After all, it was still 2023, another countdown was to come in less than two hours.

And the band played on. The dance floor filled and lifted our hearts. All the craziness and tragedy of 2023 was left outside the door. What mattered was the connection with our friends and the rhythm of the music. 

Outside the door, the world kept spinning. The soaring cost of living, opioid crisis, and wars in Israel, Ukraine, and Somalia were a part of the drone of everyday life. But inside the bar in those waning moments of 2023, nothing mattered.

We were the lucky ones. 

Our bellies were filled with sumptuous meals. Our hearts were filled with love and our souls were lifted by the music of the band. In those last hours of 2023, life seemed somehow simple and good.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Happy New Year!” And we cheered. The bar erupted with joy and we all hugged once more. Grateful to be alive and well in a place filled with peace, love, and music.