It'll be weird hanging out with
Loraine, but if the truth be told, I don't think there's anywhere
else I would rather be.
For 15 years now, I have not hung out
with Loraine on New Year's Eve. Instead, I've spent the evening with
3,000 of my closest drunk friends, broadcasting as the ball drop
occurred at the Savings Bank Building right down the street from the
station. I did it the first year we moved to Marquette, just because
I could, and since people seemed to like it, I kept doing it for the
next decade and a half.
But this year? It doesn't look like
it's gonna happen.
Why, you ask? Well, I answer, because
they moved the ball drop. In case you haven't heard, the people
who've been putting it on at the Savings Bank Building for over 20
years decided to pass the torch to the next generation, which is both
good news and bad news. It's good because we know that there will be
a ball drop for the foreseeable future, something that wasn't always
guaranteed. That's bad news, though, because by moving the ball drop
from the Savings Bank Building to the Masonic Square in downtown
Marquette, broadcasting it becomes problematic. Instead of just
stepping outside the front door of the station and babbling, I'd
either have to run a VERY long mic cable a block away (and watch as
one of my 3,000 close drunk friends unplugs it for no reason) or hope
I could get an internet signal among 3,000 other people trying to get
an internet signal and broadcast that way.
And since neither option guarantees
that I'd actually be on the air when the ball drops, as opposed to
just standing outside the front door, we decided to forego it this
year.
Once again, that's good news and bad
news. It's bad because for the first time in 15 years I won't be
doing the ball drop. It's good news because for the first time in 15
years I get to spend New Year's Eve with Loraine. Now, I don't know
if SHE considers it good news or bad news, but I know that I'm kinda
looking forward to it.
I know that while I'll miss spending
the evening with 3,000 of my closest drunk friends, I also won't miss
spending the evening with 3,000 of my closest drunk friends. After
all, I don't know if you've ever noticed what happens when you put
drunk people next to a live microphone, but I have 15 years of
experience with it, and trust me...you get really good at hitting a
kill switch very quickly.
VERY quickly.
So tomorrow will be a different kind of
evening, but I have to admit I am looking forward to it. To the new
gang putting the ball drop on, I hope it's a smashing success and I
hope it's the first of a long run at the new location. And who
knows...maybe, some year, I'll figure out a fool-proof way to
broadcast from mid-way down the 100 block of West Washington Street.
But this year, I think I'll just enjoy Loraine's company.
8-)
On that note, have yourself a great end
of 2016, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that 2017 is better—or
at least different—than the year we're wrapping up.
See you Tuesday to start the year anew!
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