It's been quite a wild ride this 2023. Can't say I'm glad it's over because one day is like another; the sun comes up and the sun goes down.
It seems that what happens during this up and down is what marks events in our minds. The person dictating the events brings them to light.
This New Year's Eve day, I made the mistake of watching the Netflix movie, Elvis.
The beginning was great. I remembered watching the performance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show with my brother and my parents in our family room. Of course it was exciting and I don't remember any negative feedback from my parents.
When Elvis went to Hollywood, I would fake going to Sunday school (for teens) and actually go to the movies to watch Elvis and Ann Margaret play sweethearts on the big screen. I also went to see Hitchcock's The Birds! Alone. Big mistake. Scary!
All these years later, while watching the Elvis Netflix movie, I can still sing all the words that dear Elvis sang.
The end of the movie saddened me as much as Elvis' real death did.
The end of 2023 also brings sadness for it has been a struggle for many. I had forgotten that singer David Crosby died until I saw Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley. The grand list of those who had passed overwhelmed me. I could barely get through the passing of my dog leg alone, Tina Turner, Matthew Perry, Tommy Smothers, Norman Lear and so many others. No wonder people celebrate the New Year with fanfare and booze; a sure way to forget the old year.
I usually bring in the New Year by doing things I want to do during the year; writing, eating healthy, helping others. No change there.
I've had animals for decades and so for any holiday that includes fireworks, firecrackers, banging on pots and pans, I stay home with the fur babies.
The only exception was a Fourth of July when I went to a barbecue with an extremely handsome blonde guy who picked me up in his two-seater Mercedes convertible. The celebration was pleasant enough but, I hate to say it, the guy was as dumb as a stump.
In Sri Lanka, where I lived for 14 years, celebration noise spread from one house to a gazillion houses. You could hear it as it rolled over the land. Such racket. My dog, Toby, would jump on my bed, shivering in fear, unable to be calmed.
Thunderstorms in Sri Lanka, did that to Toby and me. I'd never lived in a place where thunder and lightning would happen right above my house. Frightening. Toby and I would both shiver atop my bed!
What's a girl to do in 2024? Get back into walking, find adopters for the Porch Babies, maybe sign up on a dating app (NOT!), buy some lottery tickets, learn sign language, catch a prize-wining bass on Clear Lake, visit friends in Santa Barbara…oh the list goes on.
My hope is that everyone has a healthy, happy, 2024.
Lucy Llewellyn Byard is currently a columnist for the Record-Bee. To contact her, email lucywgtd@gmail.com
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