12:00 Eastern Standard Time

New Year's Eve is not my favorite rite of passage. There's something about all that forced gayety at midnight that just leaves me cold. I remember when I was a kid, my friends and I ran up and down the street a couple of times banging pots and pans. That sure was fun. Then there were the years dashing from party to party not exactly sure WHERE the hippest place to be at midnight was but boy, we needed to find it!!! Usually we ended up somewhere in between a bar and a party, usually in the car. And perhaps my favorite dud of all- the big Y 2 K moment when all the clocks were supposed to stop, the internet go haywire, aliens ready to attack- and the last place to be according to the official Y2K survival manual was in a city or an institutional setting. I managed both as I was in Georgetown Hospital in an elevator.

But there are a few good memories in my arsenal- mostly spent outdoors at a bonfire or in the country when the new year slipped in.  One year in particular does stand out though I can't remember the actual date- maybe 1981.  I do remember it was early in the evening, and a few friends and I were sitting around my group house living room pondering what to do. We could hang out in College Park and continue drinking being as we were within walking distance of the bars on Route One. We could cab it down to DC and watch the Love Stamp fall or some such weirdness. Or we could hop a plane to New York and stay at the Waldorf Astoria where my friend's brother had a suite of rooms. 

Hmmmm. Next thing I knew we were at the airport.

Okay that was a good one- I have to admit.

At any rate- no matter what you do this evening- I do wish everyone within my readership all the best for 2009- including all my lame friends that DON"t read me and you know who you are because I will have to personally send this link to you.

Happy New Year.