NEW YEAR'S EVE

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New Year's Eve my Senior year at Yale was a disaster. I had planned to meet some friends in Times Square in New York... and this was pre-renovation Times Square...pretty grungy as I recall. Of course, this was way before cell phones. Somehow we missed connections, and I found myself alone in Times Square in a downpour without an umbrella. After wandering around interminably, I eventually headed over to Port Authority, only to learn that the last bus had already departed for Ridgewood, New Jersey. I was planning to visit my sister Julie and brother-in-law Tom Martin in Wyckoff, next door to Ridgewood. The ticket office was closed, so I sat down on a bench on the platform and tried to sleep. No sooner had I done so than a policeman roused me awake. It was not permitted to sleep on the bench without a ticket. "But the ticket office is closed, sir." "No matter, you're not allowed to sleep without a ticket." It's amazing I didn't get bronchitis.

Anyway, I hope you are having, or will have had a more exciting New Year's Eve this year! Best wishes for 2013!

TIMES SQUARE NEW YEAR'S EVE 1971/1972

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I volunteered to stay behind to allow others to leave early at 2:30 today. Headquarters says that the office needs to be covered until 5:00 p.m. I contend that means the front office upstairs, but our new Assistant Port Director claims it means the Entry Branch as well -- even though we shut our doors, won't accept any clocked-in documents, and don't answer the phone after 4:30. So I texted Adam K to meet me a little later than we had planned. Oh well, it gave me a chance to get caught up with some other things.

In any case, this minor inconvenience didn't begin to compare with New Year's Eve my Senior year at Yale. I had planned to meet some friends in Times Square in New York... and this was pre-renovation Times Square...pretty grungy as I recall. Of course, this was way before cell phones. Somehow we missed connections, and I found myself alone in Times Square in a downpour without an umbrella. After wandering around interminably, I eventually headed over to Port Authority, only to learn that the last bus had already departed for Ridgewood, New Jersey. I was planning to visit my sister Julie and brother-in-law Tom Martin in Wyckoff, next door to Ridgewood. The ticket office was closed, so I sat down on a bench on the platform and tried to sleep. No sooner had I done so than a policeman roused me awake. It was not permitted to sleep on the bench without a ticket. "But the ticket office is closed, sir." "No matter, you're not allowed to sleep without a ticket." It's amazing I didn't get bronchitis.

Anyway, I hope you are having, or will have had a more exciting New Year's Eve this year! Again best wishes for 2009!