A look back at the ritual of New Year's Eve
By Leslie King
CNN Headline News
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(CNN) -- It comes once a year. You know what I'm talking about. A ritual my friends and I affectionately call "amateur night" -- otherwise known as New Year's Eve.
I don't know why, but this year it sneaked up on me. And I think it means I must be officially old. Just think, a few years ago, we were throwing ourselves into the drunken masses of a dark bar, holding our plastic Champagne glasses high in the air only to have the two sips of Andre Cold Duck in it knocked out of our hands by competitive jostling to get pole position at the bar.
To not even have New Year's Eve on my radar or even start discussing a plan until that Monday night was a sure sign that one of the most over-hyped holidays of the year just doesn't cut it anymore.
All I need is just one miracle
But Atlanta wasn't going to let us lose sight of our priorities. Thanks to a couple hundred dazed and confused "trustafarians," we had no choice but to be jolted back into the realization that yes, it's New Year's Eve, duuuude!
You see, Atlanta chose to ring in 2004 by calling out to "spread heads" everywhere to follow the beacon to Philips Arena to the Widespread Panic concert. They came, in every converted camper and RV you can imagine, so that we were treated to not one but two nights of beer bottle pyramids and the wafting smell of weed.
Oh yeah, and in case you want to grow your own, check with the guy in the Ryder truck with the ad on the side for hydroponic plant labs. I'm not kidding. He was parked right in front of the CNN Center and an Atlanta Police substation. Let me tell ya, parents, some of your kids made some trips to the mental great beyond and almost didn't make it back. More than a few of them were huddled together in Centennial Olympic Park holding on to the grass for dear life.
10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5
OK, so we know how we don't want to spend the holiday, but still no plan. It's getting desperate now: We may actually have to watch Dick Clark's "New Year's Rockin' Eve." I don't think I can face that.
Thankfully, some friends decide to offer up their home as party central. Whew! And you know, being able to sit in someone's living room, listen to great music, have great conversations and sip on some Champagne ... there's something to be said for ringing in the New Year that way. It's the chance to have a holiday where you can leave the crowds, the hassle and the Orange Alert behind and relaaaax.
Cue up the Geritol commercial now, I'm going to go watch TV in my rocker.
