New Year’s Day 2023 (observed): You are the New Day

Sometimes the obvious thing is obvious because it is good. One obvious thing: if you are at involved in high school chorus in the U.S., you will run into the King’s Singers and their cover of “You are the New Day” by John David:

I was no exception lo these many years ago. David’s secular hymn still sticks in my mind, even as time marches on. Alas, I just learned that the high school music teacher who introduced me to it passed on early in 2022.

I wish you all a happy new day and new year, and leave you with the original version by the Airwaves:

I will love you more than me and more than yesterday
if you can but prove to me you are the new day.

Send the sun in time for dawn, let the birds all hail the morning.
Love of life will urge me say, you are the new day.

When I lay me down at night, knowing we must pay,
thoughts occur that this night might stay yesterday.

Thoughts that we as humans small could slow worlds and end it all
lie around me where they fall, before the new day.

One more day when time is running out for ev’ryone,
like a breath I knew would come, I reach for a new day.

Hope is my philosophy, just needs days in which to be,
love of life means hope for me, born on a new day.

Xmas 2020

“So this is Christmas”, as the John Lennon song goes, whether one celebrates it or not. If you do, then Merry Christmas to you. If you don’t, then Happy Holidays or Season’s Greetings or even just have a nice day off or long weekend if you are lucky enough to get one of those for the holidays. I’m happy for the long weekend, sorry to not be able to visit friends and family, but looking forward to a hopefully better new year.

Take Care, Stay Safe, and Happy Holidays!

New Year’s Day 2016

duluth new years eve fireworks

Better late than never.

Consider this message a belated New Year’s Day post. My webhost was down on January 1, suffering from a Denial of Service (DOS) attack. While I often pre-schedule posts so that I don’t have to sit down at my computer every day, not being able to post is no fun. It’s good to be back. Hopefully for good!

Even a day late for New Years, it is never too late to thank everyone who reads these pages for being a loyal follower, and to wish everyone a safe, happy and of course bookish New Year.

The picture above is from the annual New Year’s Eve celebration here in Duluth Georgia. A good and not too cold time was had by all. And I always love a good fireworks show!

New Year’s Day 2015

happy 2015

Happy 2015! 

Last night at midnight, wherever you are and whenever that was, is when the big celebration took place.

Peach Drop 2009We’re back in Atlanta, and they drop a giant PEACH at midnight here. Considering just how many streets in the metro area are named Peachtree something-or-other, the big peach is not a big surprise.

But our peach and New York’s crystal ball aren’t the only things falling at midnight. Wikipedia has a big list, but here’s some of the ones that caught my attention:

There’s a place in Bermuda where they drop a paper-mache Bermuda onion.

Lots of places in Florida drop citrus fruit. Not just the Oranges that get dropped in Orlando and Miami, but Sarasota drops a pineapple and Brooksville drops a tangerine.

In Maine, Bangor drops a beach ball, and Eastport drops both a maple leaf and a sardine. A sardine!

But my favorite is my own hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. I wish they still did this, but it doesn’t look like they do. They used to fly a pig, so that once a year, it could be said that pigs do fly.

But only once a year.

I hope that each and every one of you has a happy 2015.

Happy New Year 2014

Picture of Champagne bubbles by Gaetan Lee from wikimedia commonsHappy New Year! 

Those are champagne bubbles in the picture. I hope your celebration included something suitably sparkly and bubbly. (We toasted the New Year with hard cider, but it still bubbled and had a kick!)

Now that 2013 is over, tomorrow we’ll take a look at the books we’re looking forward to in 2014.