Helaine has headed to bed. Steffie’s upstairs, watching TV by herself. New Year’s Eve has ended at the Fox house.
We were together at the stroke of midnight. Helaine and I kissed. She always gets choked up at New Year’s. It’s actually very sweet.
The three of us sat together and grazed the TV dial as the new year approached. Everyone station seems to be doing something special tonight.
Tony Orlando was performing in Atlantic City and it was live on Fox News Channel. Good lord – he’s the size of two houses! He and the band looked like poster children for ‘going through the motions.’
In his defense, how many times could you sing “Tie a Yellow Ribbon,” before going postal?
On NBC, Carson Daly was holding down the fort. Years ago, he was very nice to Steffie. I, in turn, will be nice to Carson. He’s very thin and I’m jealous.
MTV looked like a community access channel, albeit with good lighting. I have no idea who their acts were. I have less idea who their hosts were, except Steffie pointed to one and said, “That’s Perez Hilton.”
Oh, that’s what he looks like.
On ABC, Dick Clark was supported by Ryan Seacrest. You can see Dick’s mind is sharp, and he looks good, but it’s still painful to hear him speak.
Approaching midnight, he had trouble keeping up with the countdown to the ball drop. He actually dropped a number to get back in sync.
He has to have worked hard to get back to where he is. The problem is with me. I need to be more understanding. This is my weakness.
New Year’s Eve is a bittersweet night for Helaine and me. Most years we stayed at home, quietly spending the time together. One year, just after arriving in Connecticut, we went to a party and a former co-worker began to hit on my wife!
Our first New Year’s Eve together, back in Buffalo, we went to a party at our friend Phil’s apartment. Who knows why, but we had a fight. Neither of us remember the specifics. It was twenty four years ago tonight, and it was the closest we ever came to splitting up.
I like New Year’s Eve at home better.
True, Dick Clark is still suffering the effects of his stroke, however it’s very evident he has made significant progress from where he was last year. Last year his arm rested on the table immobile in front of him, this year he appeared to have full use of his arms, and was capable of much more speech that last. We (at the small New Years gathering at my house) were heartened by the improvement he has made in the last year.
LONG LIVE DICK CLARK!