Auld Lang Syne, 2008
Au revoir, 2008 . . .
you had your ups & downs, but overall, a very fine year !
And what a wonderful last night of 2008 we had . . .
I sing,
having none,
but for the common sunshine,
the breeze,
the largesse of the spring.
Not for victory
but for the day's work done
as well as I was able;
not for a seat upon the dais
but at the common table.
Additionally, Sally kept Phyllis & Lynne mesmerized with a poignant selection of children's literature with deeply moving storylines, while Michael was cooking his magnificent New Year's Eve Feast !
The New Year's Eve Dinner is served buffet-style off the bar . . . YUM !
Lynne & Phyllis, moments before grace . . .
Sally's seat is empty because she's snapping this photo of Michael, Lynne, & Phyllis enjoying the elegant New Year's Eve Dinner . . .
Adieu, 2008, mon ami . . .
We were too busy toasting to take photos of the ushering out of 2008 and the welcoming in of 2009 . . .
A New Year's toast to love and laughter
and happily ever after
A health to you, a wealth to you,
And the best that life can give to you.
Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
And live every day as if it were your last.
We've holidays and happy days,
and memory days galore
And when we've toasted every one,
I offer just one more
So let us lift our glasses high,
and drink a silent toast
To the day, deep buried in each heart
that each one loves the most !
We did sing Auld Lang Syne with good friends !
(even though "auld friends," Jim & Jean, were in Colorado Springs !)
Eighteenth-century Scottish poet, Robert Burns, may well be most famous not for a poem he wrote, exactly, but for a poem he wrote down.
Often described as "the song that nobody knows", Auld Lang Syne annually rings in the New Year at parties across the world, though most often sung out of tune and with improvised lyrics.
Though the history of the authorship of the poem is labyrinthine and disputed, Burns is generally credited with penning at least two original stanzas to the version that is most familiar to revelers of the New Year.
Here are the first two stanzas as Burns recorded them:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind ?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And days of auld lang syne !
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
Bienvenue !
Aloha !
W E L C O M E
2009 !