“Maybe it’s much too early in the game, oh, but I thought I’d ask you just the same,
What are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve?”
I was humming this song to myself today (the Rufus Wainwright version) and I started thinking about how New Year’s Eve is supposed to be the night where we all put on our most glamorous outfits, drink champagne out of crystal flutes (or ladies’ shoes, depending on how much you’ve actually been drinking BEFORE the champagne) ooh and ahh over the fireworks illuminating the sky (or singe your eyebrows at the riotous bonfire if you live in Mid-City) and then seal the deal with a romantic, lingering kiss at midnight. How many people really party on New Year’s Eve? I decided to take an informal poll of some of the folks at WRBH and see if anyone actually lived out this December 31st fantasy night, and here’s what I discovered: either we are an incredibly sedate and sleepy bunch of people, or this whole New Year’s Eve thing is a hoax. Maybe there really is a volunteer out there who had the full-on magic, but I didn’t run into them today. When I inquired “How did you spend New Year’s Eve?” these were the answers I received:
Rachel Stickney (WRBH Event Planner): “I curled up in my bed with my new Pottery Barn comforter and watched the movie Enchanted and the Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds romantic comedy The Proposal.”
Three of our volunteer readers shared the same activity (although not together): Marie Miller (Making Groceries with Marie) Cameron Gamble (11/22/63) and Jim Lazare (Prime Angus) gave me this answer: ” I watched the LSU game and got extremely depressed.”
Wayne Holmes (WRBH engineer) “I hung out with some friends.”
Scott Jefferson (Actor, reader of Steve Jobs) “My wife Alice and I were invited to dinner with several other couples, and the hostess called to say she was ill with the flu. So we lit a fire in the new fire pit that Santa brought and drank a toast.” Hmmm, that’s pretty romantic. But then again, these two are newlyweds.
Jean-Paul Villere (reader, Midday Short Story) “I hate the holidays. I’m glad they’re over. I’m a real Scrooge. I don’t even drink champagne.”
Angela Hill (WWL news anchor, reader of Love at First Bark) “I ate two steaks in my bathrobe.”
George Simpson (reader) “I watched people on TV get drunk.”
Carol Butcher (reader, The Wall Street Journal) “I watched that vulgar Kathy Griffin embarrass Anderson Cooper on CNN.”
“So if you think I stand one little chance, here comes the jackpot question in advance,
What are you doing New Year’s Eve?”
I suspect even Rufus Wainwright stayed in and missed the fireworks.
