Keeping Pace

Cover Your Head It’s Time For The Ball To Drop Again

The new year is almost upon us. Do you plan to party like it’s 1999?

What some may find interesting is I began working on this post…hmmm let’s see….October 3rd. Right around the time I was mulling over the future of this blog. Even though I still enjoyed writing it and I thought I still had things to say, I began to question if I should continue to devote so much time to what was becoming just a quirky little hobby of mine.

Earlier that day, I had talked with friends on Facebook. We all lived on the same block when our children were young. The conversation revolved around one of our last big neighborhood parties before everyone began moving, which took place on the historical date, December 31, 1999.

Like many growing during the 70s , I expected life in 2000 to mimic the show, The Jetsons. Over the decades, life had changed but not that drastically.

Paranoia built as the media filled our heads with stories of the chaos that would occur if computers didn’t advance from 1999 to 2000. Rumors began that if financial institutions encountered problems, bank accounts could be inaccessible and we should all keep cash if ATMs and credit cards didn’t work. Some believed that utility companies could stop operations and that travel could be affected if computers malfunctioned. These concerns caused some to stock their homes with bottled water and non-perishable food. They filled up generators with gas, bought extra batteries and candles in the event that we all too stupid to figure it out. Some believed that at the stroke of midnight, life as we knew it would cease. Somehow a society that put man on the moon would lose the ability to figure out how to turn the lights back on, if there was a temporary system failure.

Alas, all the concern was for nothing, though rational people weren’t concerned. If there was one thing we could do in that neighborhood, it was throw a good party. As anticipation of this historical date grew, my neighbors all agreed that it was a good reason to celebrate the new year in a memorable way. Our plan was to organize a Progressive Party. A theme was assigned to each participating house that evening, for food, decor and activities.

The party was a success. The lights stayed on, the moon didn’t explode and suffice to say we all had fun. When a photographer got wind of our party and showed up, we were mentioned in a special Millennium edition of the paper the next morning.

Back in October when I wrote the rough draft of this post, I had no idea if I would ever finish it. As it turns out, my blog is still active, in fact, it recently received a new look. Will my future include a writing career? I have no idea what’s in-store for me or where it will lead. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

I’ve been to many New Year’s Eve Parties since that day, all enjoyable, but none have ever equaled the festivities of that night and to answer my question: I have no intention of partying like it’s 1999. The year came with many challenges and I for one will be just pleased to put it behind me.