This is my happy new year suitcase that stays under the bed until the year's big finale. It's filled with antique noisemakers. And a pin the tail on Froggy chart from a very long time ago.
This one's my absolute favorite: Live Turtle Races every night at 10 pm
But 50-Thrilling Girls-50 and in Paradise- is mighty thrilling too. Sounds a little Islamic- woops shouldn't say that. shh. Not sure what N.T.G. means.
Random NewYear's Eve memories:
My mother saved pie plates, and at midnight we'd go out on the porch.She'd ring a ship's bell and hand Carol and me empty pie plates. We were supposed to think of things we wanted to say to hell with, and then toss the plate over the railing into the side yard.
One early year my best friend Jeanie surprised the family by running naked around the dining room table, as the spirit of the New Year.
A friend of Jon's said he thought the reason New Year's parties don't compare to the parties in 30's movies is because of the ceilings. In movies of that time (and most movies) you never see the ceiling and it makes things seem much more ebullient or something. But it may also be because of the running times- 90 minutes max in the old movie compared to 3+ groaner hours at the party.
I bet I'll be asleep before anyone else who reads this since I woke up at 4:30 and got to the lake before dawn. I can't remember a New Year's party that was really fun, maybe because no one wants to throw that darned whip cream.
Which reminds me of one more old holiday story. Before Dinah was born we had big Halloween parties. We had a tiny backyard with a pool that just filled it. I bought a plaster Santa and put him in the bottom of the pool for a creepy effect. The pool had colored lights. Later that winter we had to get him out. The pool man was complaining. I dove into the most hideous cold water and somehow fetched that bleached out Santa.
And tomorrow Dinah's going to do the Penguin Dive at the Santa Monica Pier. I'm impressed!
10 comments:
I like saying to hell with stuff and throwing the plates. We will go to bed very early but the fireworks in the neighborhood will probably keep us awake. I get a bit depressed on New Year's Eve.
It's not specifically New Year's, but I just think of how people partied in those old movies like "Thin Man" and "Topper" — so glamorous.
sal, funny you mention about getting depressed on New Years Eve- I just got a email from an acquaintance about what a downer HE thought New Years was. And yesterday my dad was remembering how disappointing most of his New Years eves were.
Sally,
I like the pie plate thing. Good idea!
p.s.
Poor ol' plaster Santa!
This is what academics do on New Years Day in their offices: they google NTG and 49th and Broadway, and discover a page from a google book search; specifically a photo caption from the book "Nightclub City: Politics and Amusement in Manhattan" by Burton W. Peretti, published in 2007 by U. Penna. Press: The photo itself is copyright, and not included in the google page.
"The facade of the Paradise Restaurant, at Broadway and 49th Street, in 1935. `NTG' was Nils Thor Granlund, the impresario who earlier had originated the high-volume, low-cost nightclub, complete with dinner and variety show, at the nearby Hollywood Restaurant."
It's snowing in Illinois and time to go home and start making our traditional New Year's Chinese Food.
Happy New Year's Day, Sally. I hope you don't grab the wrong suitcase when you drive up to Sea Ranch. Actually, it would probably be lots of fun if you did.
Do you remember anything specific you said to hell with when you threw the pie pans? Did it work? Your mom is too much.
Yeah, everyone needs to throw a few demon plates now and then. Bruce, thanks for that amazing Google trackdown!
Happy New Year all. Ain't the Internet Grand?
Linda, Imagine passing through airport security with this suitcase!
Sally -- When I was a kid and watched old movies, there'd be this tycoon who had a news ticker in his office and I thought that was the coolest non-math thing in the world. Then came the Internet. Googling to answer questions is still one of the coolest non-math things in the world to me. -- Bruce
Google is the greatest !
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