It was always on our bucket list and today was the day. This crazy idea that a couple of 40 somethings should tough it out and stand for a whole day waiting for a giant ball to drop from the sky seemed like it was never going to happen. We had spent 3 days getting ready for it and went to bed last night determined to do this right. We were ready mentally now whether we could persevere physically, we were on our way.
We discussed a strategy to try and get ourselves into the best possible position to ring in the year. I took a walk down from the hotel around 9 to see who was crazy enough to be positioned already for the day. I was blown away with the thousands who were already in place and hunkered down. I brought breakfast back and told Mary that our plan for a 3pm arrival wasn’t going to cut it. We ramped up for a 1pm plan and started to execute operation “Zero Pee”.
You see, this was the biggest hurdle of the day. There are no bathrooms and no way to exit if you needed one. The NYPD make the rules pretty clear to everyone. Once you are security checked into the secured area, you are in or you’re out. We had a strategy that we would get near the stage after trying to dehydrate ourselves for the day. It was going to be no fun being penned in 25 blocks from the action so off we went, bundled like we were climbing Everest and hoping our bladders wouldn’t sink us.
The throng of people was insane. Thousands of people had now flooded the streets of 7th and Broadway. The security process was holding up but was going to take hours to pat down everyone.They were trying to force us back 6 blocks to control the group. This led to one of our better decisions of the day which was to ignore the NYPD. They were doing the right thing forcing us back to control the crowds but that wasn’t our plan. We turned around and forced ourselves into an area where we had a chance to get closer to the action. After some jostling, we were in and we ended up in a great spot, right in the centre of the stage area and in great view of the ball. Now could we sustain the 12 hours?
Fortunately, the weather was clear and We were dressed for the duration. It was 3 degrees but no rain or wind so that would help us. We hadn’t eaten or had much to drink either. We tried to watch some movies on our phones but soon decided that the right thing was to simply revel in the moment and get to know those of us who were as committed. We met some nice people from Florida and a couple from Cold Lake who formed the main source of entertainment for the night. We were all of the same age and similar bucket lists and therefor we needed to stay firm on the plan.
Amazingly, we ended up only 100 yards from, the street that our hotel was on. Around 6 it was clear that 3 of the crew were not going to make it until midnight without taking a wizz. We started a plan to negotiate their ability to be escorted to the hotel and back and with the help of a joyful NYPD officer, we pulled it off. Mary and the 2 others got back in when many others were sent packing. It was like a Survivor scene where you are voted off. We were back and into the back 6 hours of the night.
The entertainment started and it certainly moved the time by quickly. The acts kept getting bigger and bigger too. We even saw the dude with the one hit wonder song “the whip”. It suddenly became fun and alive and everything you came for. It was a party of epic proportions and we were in the middle of it. We didn’t have to pee, or eat (although we did have McDonald’s sell us some fries for $8) or sit. We partied our asses off without a drop of anything.
Crazy hats came out, balloon swords were swung and new friends were made for the night. Even a Mariah Carey on stage meltdown with lip syncing couldn’t derail us now. (By the way, her meltdown was 10x better as she left the stage in full diva mode!) The countdown was on. 59..58..57..56
I spent a lot of time reflecting in those 60 seconds. It was a great year for me. So much promise for the future all wrapped in the past 365 days. Family challenges but lots of upsides, our health and we are engaged. Mary stood next to me reflecting the same and we counted this down 5..4..3..2..1
Happy New Year!
Tons of hugs and kisses to strangers far and wide and the city exploded into a celebration that you can’t believe with your eyes. There were 2 million people in the streets that night and every one of us was cherishing the moment. We revelled for another 15 minutes and all headed off towards our parts of the cement jungle we owned for the night. In a flash we were in the room and watching the masses pour out of the area for the next hours all the while we celebrated our check off the bucket list. Happy New Year to all of you!
Oh yeah, and I had a glorious wizz the minute I opened the door to the room…