Locked in writing today. I have given up going out New Year's Eve because it dawned on me one year that I had zero memories of having a great time and plenty of bad memories. One bad one involved an ugly break-up with a lady I'd been seeing for some time. Most involved traipsing to one party after another where folks were drinking a wee bit too much and/or trying too hard to have a wonderful time. There were also a few near-misses (or more accurately, near-hits) on the road involving inebriated drivers.
The closest I've come to a great time on New Year's Eve was the time I spent it on the Strip in Las Vegas with another woman — a lady who'd danced in Lance Burton's old magic show at the Hacienda Hotel and wanted to be a witness that night as the Hacienda was imploded. I wrote about it in this article and you'll see that I note the old hotel was to be replaced by a new one called Project Paradise. Project Paradise was indeed erected on that real estate but it wound up being called Mandalay Bay. The dancer is also long out of my life — unless you count being Facebook Friends — but that one, I'm happy to say, ended better than the one that ended on New Year's Eve.
Some people look at me askance when they hear that I've declined all invites and chosen to stay in for the last night of the year. Listen: I'll be as glad to say ta-ta to 2013 as anyone but that'll happen whether I go out or stay in. 2014 will commence even if I'm not standing awkwardly among a bunch of tipsy acquaintances wearing funny hats. I think. So buzz off, you askance lookers, you.
I note that none of the late night shows are new tonight. There was a time when a fresh Tonight Show was almost as much a New Year's Eve tradition as Guy Lombardo on CBS or Dick Clark on ABC. I can't recall when Jay (who did it the last half-dozen years when guest-hosting for Johnny, too) stopped but it was probably a significant marker I missed noting about the decline in importance of late night TV. Turner Classic Movies is running all the That's Entertainment! film compilations if you hanker to see the musical feats of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, et al, without having to concern yourself with storylines.
Since I'm not straying far from this here computer, I'll probably be back later to wish you a Happy '14. So I don't have to do it now.