Happy New Year as 2019 approaches

Another Christmas has come and gone. The halls were decked, the holly was jolly and the stolen kisses under the mistletoe exchanged. The holiday meals that took days to prepare were consumed in less than a half hour. Containers of left-overs stuff the freezer.

As always New Years follows Christmas this year giving many a four-day weekend.

The year 2019 is represented in the Chinese Zodiac as the Year of the Pig. The pig represents good fortune with lucky numbers being 2, 5, 6 and 8. Unlucky numbers this year are 3, 4 and 9 according to Wikipedia.

Here’s to all my friends who enjoy a good pork meal and especially those who worship bacon, go nuts.

I guess I’m the type of person who is confounded by the concept of time and its passing. I tell people I am incapable of being on time, but “I do early better than anybody you ever met,” I say.

After all, if you’re always early, you are never late. Time passes and I am constantly surprised at how quickly.

For instance, how did we get almost 20 years into this new century? People were so recently stockpiling food and water in the weeks and months leading up to the new millennium. The term Y2K gained popular usage for the year 2000 and the idea that this occurrence would cripple or outright destroy all the computers that had become the gods controlling the world by the end of the 20th Century.

• • •

Looking at the advertising inserts sent out with our newspaper they contain the usual blowout prices for the leftover Christmas gear. Stock up now for next year is the message.

There are also many products to help those who resolve to improve their bodies in the new year. Vitamins, power drinks, nutrition bars and exercise equipment promise to help. The conventional wisdom would have us believe New Year’s Resolutions are forgotten before the end of January.

In my case, I love the feel of a new journal on Jan. 1. My resolve to write in it every day is fleeting too. The closest I come is a datebook for scheduling work assignments and far too many doctor appointments. C’est la vie.

The beginning of a new year brings with it the promise of good things. Renewed hope for financial security, world peace and good fellowship.

• • •

At the risk of sounding like a broken record please, don’t drink or smoke marijuana and drive. An encounter with law enforcement is a lousy way to ring in the new year. Buzzed driving, even if you think you are only a little bit high, can ruin your life.

Many are celebrating 2019 with that four-day weekend I mentioned, so pace yourself. Football games, parades and family gatherings are to be enjoyed not fought over.

Jail cells are full of people who think they can handle a little booze or a small amount of weed and still drive home safely. Even if you are hit by drivers who really can’t handle their party favors, you will get a ticket too.

Police protocol can require that all the drivers involved in an accident be tested for intoxicants. All the breath mints and cologne in the house will not mask the smell of booze or weed.

Have a designated driver before heading out to celebrate. Remember the DD isn’t the person who has imbibed the least. It is the person who didn’t consume any drugs or alcohol at all.

Long days and pleasant nights, have a great weekend and a very happy New Year.

• • •

Readers, may contact Tami Jo Nix by emailing tamijonix@gmail.com or following @TamiJoNix on Twitter.