I don't have an actual bucket list. Yes, there are some cool things I have done that I am glad I was able to do and one is celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square. This is something that I feel kinda proud to tell people I have experienced but I would never, not in a million years, ever do it again.
The day started out pretty well. It was a warmer December evening - coat, hat, gloves required but not so cold you needed layers. My college boyfriend had family in New Jersey so we were able to take the train into the city and would not need to park in Manhattan. We went early in the afternoon and were able to enjoy a tasty corned beef on rye sandwich at a deli in Times Square and then join the excitement outside.
New York City is a buzz on a normal day but it was electric on this holiday eve. As we sat in the deli with the sounds of Abba's Greatest Hits pumping through the establishment I did not believe I could be any happier. Looking around at all the people from all corners of the world joined together I felt like the main character in the off the wall 90's film Muriel's Wedding. When things were going right in her life she would say, "My life is as good as an Abba song."
After we left the deli and were walking around I noticed store owners were boarding up their windows. I wondered why this was necessary. Were these precautions for the festivities or were they expecting a hurricane, I thought to myself, but with the bars of Fernando still fresh in my mind, I did not give it a second thought. Besides I was about to see Dick Clark.
When we got to Times Square, there were barricades all along the perimeter. Once we passed through we were supposed to stay put. As the area continued to fill up with people you were not guaranteed a spot if you left and wanted to come back. There was a heavy police presence in 1995, but probably only a fraction of what is needed today. The officers were pretty strict and seemed to be focused on keeping order.
It was very cool to see the stage where Dick Clark was set up to broadcast. It would be hours before the show would begin, but by 9 p.m. we were in our place. Unfortunately, we were behind the stage and would not be able to see him or his guests. "Who cares," I thought, still in my own Waterloo. "We have the big Times Square screen and will be able to see and hear everything anyway."
About an hour into the standing, listening to the countdown of hits from 1995, I felt like an animal caged in the zoo. My boyfriend and I realized we would not be able to go to the bathroom for a long time. Others around us, who had probably been on a bar crawl prior to getting into the pen, did not let their surroundings stop them. Many young men were relieving themselves where they stood - in the street! This was the first time the melody to my Abba soundtrack started to hit some sour notes. I was disgusted and made sure their celebratory stream wasn't running my way.
As the clock got closer to 11 I kept waiting to hear Dick's voice. We were still watching videos for the year end music countdown and our conversation had died out. I am not sure where this countdown came from but there were not many songs I recognized. At the time I was a DJ at my college radio station and had my finger on the pulse of popular music. These songs weren't striking any chords with me and I was starting to get tired.
I was starting to think nostalgically of the years I spent ringing in the New Year with my family. I was longing to be by our fireplace breathing in smoke and getting ready to beat pots and pans. I tried to force those thoughts out of my head because spending New Year's Eve in New York was cool and I was cool, damn it. I wasn't a baby who needed her family.
It was almost 11:30 and still no audio from the big ABC show. I thought for sure it would be Dick's voice I would hear counting us down to the new year. Now the only thing getting me through was the big finish- the ball drop and the kiss in Times Square. I somehow expected Rhett Butler to deliver my lips the smooch of a lifetime - the most romantic experience of my young life.
The ball seems really close on TV with cameras zoomed in. In person it was far away, like another galaxy. And the kiss, as soon as our lips touched and the confetti fell we were on the move. I was surprised at how quickly people departed. I guess the people near the Dick Clark stage stay put for a while in the hopes of getting on TV but in the port a potty I was standing in, people were ready to vaminos.
Once on the sidewalk, my feet did not touch the ground. The crowd of people leaving was so jam packed we got caught up in it. I was barely able to hold onto my boyfriend's jacket but knew if I let go I would get trampled or lost. Getting lost would be quite the predicament since we did not yet have cell phones and I did not know his family's number in New Jersey. The movement of bodies almost took my breath away and I could not wait to reach the train station. I finally understood the boarded up windows.
Even without Dick Clark, I continue to watch his countdown show each year. I know if I had not had this experience years ago I would wonder what it would be like to be in Times Square on New Year's Eve. I would think it must be a romantic experience, one that I would like to share with my husband for that magical midnight kiss.
Luckily, I checked that experience off my list at a time when I was young and naïve enough to endure it. These days I keep it local, with a smaller crowd, and a clean bathroom with easy access. With three kids who stay up past their bedtime, the 12:00 a.m. kiss lasts as long as the one in Times Square decades ago, but when it's over the longest walk I have is to my bedroom and there's only one other person fighting to get to the same spot.
Happy New Year!
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