Trail: Celebrating New Year’s Eve, number 2025

Dick and Ann Trail reenact their first kiss at the Fox Theater on New Year’s eve.

Your old columnist has been wracking my brain about what to write about this new year. I checked with Grannie Annie, and she had suggestions!

What do you think a couple of eighty-year-olds do on New Year’s Eve? Yeah, you are right – go to bed around 10, maybe a few minutes later than usual. I’ll admit that I did wake up a bit before midnight, the new year dawning to fireworks, by obviously the younger set. No problem going back to sleep a few minutes into 2025!

Our daughter was visiting from Omaha, and our New Year’s Eve supper was special. She served up a variety of Hors Oeuvres that we seldom taste and a bit of red wine to settle it all. Then conversation. “Da, d do you remember anything special that you did to celebrate New Year’s Eve?” Maybe a little too much wine, but I related that as a youth, I had asked a special lady to enjoy the movie with me at the Fox Theater. Ray Search always had a popular movie to show late on New Year’s Eve, and then at midnight, he paused it for a few minutes for everyone to celebrate the new year. That was when I asked my date that night for an on-the-lips kiss and Ann gave permission. Our first kiss 71 years ago led to 65+ years married!

Nancy’s retort, “Come on, get in my car!” We drove down to the Fox and reenacted the kiss that, hopefully, Editor Mike will include. Our son Don wanted to know if the movie was PG or R-rated! Still, I have no clue as to what the name of that movie was, but that first kiss led to the most wonderful chapter of my life. Yes, I’m the luckiest guy alive!

The year 2025 should be a good one because we ate black-eyed peas for dinner on day one. That was a tradition that we picked up living in Oklahoma. Mine and Ann’s mom always prepared sauerkraut, a German tradition, to call in good luck for the new year. We had that a couple of days later, so hopefully, we are covered for 2025.

So winter has finally come to our little bit of Nebraska. First, the freezing rain/mist fell to coat the trees, sidewalks, and roads. The, n the snow came to keep roads and runways almost unusable. Our Airport sent out word that it was closed, and weathercasters recommended little or no travel. Most businesses decided to close and even churches delayed services or kept their doors closed.

What to do if you are a couple in your eighties? In our case, family called to request that Grannie Annie and her old husband stay home. We caught our church service on our laptops and noted that most people our age also were not present. And no, I did not scoop my walks or driveway but found a young man to do that job for $$$.

I could stand staying home for two days, then stepped out to attend family time with one of my high school classmates, recently deceased, in a local mortuary. On day three, Grannie Annie “had” to go out to volunteer at her job at Helping Hand Thrift Store. All those ladies that volunteer there, I suspect, enjoy the midmorning break for coffee, treats, and “news” as much as the work or putting things in order. It probably works that way at the Bargain Bazaar also. Bless them all! Sur, e we are yet independent souls but being with other people makes life even better.

That is how I saw it.