Thoughts on life, love and faith by Plasticmind.

Hello, New Year, my old friend.

Glad to see you made your way back to the present with our good pal Rudolph and didn’t get snatched up by that nasty vulture Eon. Don’t worry, I have big ears too!

Ahh, what a welcoming celebration we had! (At our church? A good time?! Wha…?) We kicked it off with Christmas Jeopardy (thanks Nate) and T# nearly stole the victory from GramB … but she got Bob Cratchit and risked enough to put her in first. A recount and she won! Then came the talent show. A big jerk, a little magician, some well-boiled Santa and some good old-fashioned folk music to get everyone feelin’ alright.

Next we did something you never really get to do at church: whatever you want. People downstairs lounging around chatting. People upstairs lounging around chatting. Other more energetic people playing Spoons with forks. And the ones that wanted to pretend like they were “getting into the spirit of the evening” while still catching some Zzz’s were hunkered down in the auditorium, lights off, eyes closed, “watching the movie” being played on the big screen.

Course I had to be the bad guy and shut the movie off before it was finished. Then it was music. Me, the 12-string borrowed from Kim and Lee, and all of about 60 people, singing their hearts out. We sang for a good twenty-five minutes; then we all made a commitment to be devoted to prayer this new year. After the midnight cheer and Wally played Auld Lang Syne on the harmonica, we all stood in a big circle and held hands. Sure, it sounds cheesy, like maybe a New Year’s koombayah session. But as I see it, we were all giving up the first fruits of 2008 in prayer, together, as a family.

Can I share a secret? We watched the ball drop on the big screen. Sweeping shots of Manhattan city canyons. The shafts of light coming out in all directions from the ball. The massive chants of millions of people counting down the seconds. But it was last year’s footage. I don’t have the technology to set up a television on the big screen at church; but I do have the technology to splice out any instances of 2007 and mix in audio from a cheering crowd for continuity.

Once word gets out, we’re in trouble. I think everyone’s going to want a redo. Bah, that’s fine. We had a blast, and I sure wouldn’t mind doing it all over again!