Here it is — a brand new year.

Yippee!

Every January 1 brings back memories of New Years 2000 and the Y2K scare. Readers of sufficient age should remember all the anxiety that was wasted in 1999 as some folks thought the world was coming to an end (or something similarly calamitous) on January 1, 2000.

Of course, radio talk show Chicken Littles added to the apprehension with fear-laden predications of what would happen when our computers failed at 12 a.m. on January 1. There were predictions we wouldn’t be able to withdraw funds from ATMs, buy groceries or gasoline and other apocalyptic nightmares.

Fortunately, intelligent people took the necessary actions before January 1 and none of the predicted chaos transpired. The brand-new year came in as smoothly as the previous year left.

With more and more people using debit and credit cards we are writing fewer checks nowadays. This means there is less pressure to remember to write the new year on our checks. Remember that hassle?

The first change of year I can remember was 1956. I was in second grade and we had begun including dates on our school papers. My tender young mind had difficulty remembering to write 1956 instead of 1955. Oh, the distresses of second grade.

The next memorable change of year was 1960. Though I was born in 1948, the 1950s were all I knew and 1960 seemed like such an exotic new number.

At nearly 12 years of age, New Year’s Eve parties were still in my future but I remember that on the night before 1960 my paternal grandparents and Cousin Kenny spent the night at our house and when you’re a kid that’s exciting.

On the most recent New Year’s Eve I was looking forward to watching the festivities from New York City’s Times Square on television but doggone if they didn’t drop the ball again.

Yes, I stayed up until midnight on New Year’s Eve. I made breakfast at 12:02 a.m. on January 1 so I could make a New Year’s toast.

I have not made any New Year’s Resolutions for 2024. I’m so old it’s easier to just keep doing what I’ve been doing. If I were to make a New Year’s resolution it would be to stop hanging out with people who ask me about my New Year’s resolutions.

My family is accustomed to my habits — good and bad — so there’s little pressure to change. Last year I resolved to quit my bad habits but then decided no one likes a quitter.

Let’s face it, a New Year’s Resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.

Julie and I haven’t made any big travel plans for 2024. We did that in 2020 and then had to cancel those plans because of the pandemic. We then planned a big trip in 2022 but trashed those plans because the price of gasoline and hotels had skyrocketed. Life can be difficult when you’re cheap.

Many years have come and gone and I’ve seen scores of changes over those years.

We old guys remember when car manufacturers introduced a new style car each year. When I was 12 years old I could identify most car makes and models by year. These days most cars I can afford look alike. The new model year usually doesn’t mean much anymore except for the price increase.

A guy at the coffee shop pointed out last week that Christmas and New Year’s fell on the same days of the week this holiday season. Isn’t that interesting?

Some communities honor their first baby of the year. A baby boy was born shortly after midnight on January 1 to a young couple in the area. The parents named him Steven and introduced him to the family as New Year’s Steve.

The new year is the time for new calendars. This year I bought an invisible calendar. Now that’s something you don’t see every day.

An old friend of mine worked for a calendar factory. He got fired for taking a day off.

I read that a woman in Florida shoplifted a calendar on New Year’s Eve. She got 12 months!

These are my random New Year thoughts. Please remember that nonsense is better than no sense at all.

I hope your New Year is a happy one.

Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. ©2023 by Huisman Communications.