And a “Happy New Year” to you, too.
January 1, 2004, 1:06 AM
It’s 2004! That’s a frightening thought.
I spent my New Year’s up on the Blue Ridge Parkway, taking an hour or so to myself in the quiet. This is the first time in at least twelve years that I did NOT do like most people do – sitting and watching the TV, watching the ball drop at Times Square. Instead, I spent the time deep in thought, allowing my mind to completely release itself with a view of the Shenandoah Valley below.
And you could tell exactly when the ball dropped anyway, based on what happened in the valley below. From my vantage point on an overlook in the mountains, I saw a bunch of fireworks going off all across the valley. All kinds of illegal (in Virginia) fireworks blasting high up in the air, to ring in the new year. And that’s another thing – they really did appear small from my vantage point. Sure, they probably seemed huge from below, but since I was above the people’s fireworks looking down on them, they really seemed kind of diminutive.
Still, this way of ringing in the new year was a rather fitting way of doing it for me. New Year’s parties admittedly are fairly routine. Eat. Drink. Scream and make noise when the clock strikes 12. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Still, 2003 saw a bit of a change. Now that my site has a journal, I’ve been able to do a lot more thinking. I’ve also been taking a lot more time to myself lately taking these times to find a quiet place to simply stare off and let my mind relax. I’ve also been wearing much darker clothes lately. Lots of black and navy and dark greens and dark blues and dark grays. Don’t know what that signifies, but anyway…
And the thing I like to relax really is my mind. My body gets enough rest. But my mind is the thing that really needs a break. It’s constantly watching and analyzing and managing everything it detects, and doesn’t ever stop. These little moments are good to have…
Web site: A little page about the Blue Ridge Parkway, where I spent my New Year's
Song: Certainly not Auld Lang Syne... another tradition I rejected this evening...
Quote: "Hear that? That's quiet you're hearing. I love it."
Categories: Blue Ridge Parkway, New Year's