Happy New Year’s 2013

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By Diane Forrest

Well today is the beginning of a brand new year!  The old man of 2012 has retired and been replaced by the baby new year.  Today is a fresh start for everyone.  A chance to forget about all the problems and disappointments of 2012, and plan a bright and prosperous 2013.  Some people make a new year's resolution.  Things such as losing weight, quitting a bad habit, spending more time with family and things like that.  I used to make them too, however, they would be forgotten in a few days, and so I'm not gonna start the new year with a disappointment.

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Today is a day to reflect on things you did in 2012, and things that you can do better in 2013.  You have a clean slate!!

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One of the things I thought about are the people we have lost, many of them made such impressions on our lives, and provided many good memories  I am grateful for the moments of happiness they provided me.  Some of the ones who passed away include:

Entertainers:

Etta James, Andy Griffith, Ernest Borgnine, Sherman Hemsley, Maurice Sendak, Donna Summer, Robin Gibb, Doc Watson, Richard Dawson, Nora Ephron, Phyllis Diller, Michael Clarke Duncan, Don Cornelius, Jan Berenstain, Ravi Shankar and Dave Brubeck.  Most recently Larry Haggman of Dallas, and Jack Klugman of the Odd Couple

Political figgures: George McGovern, Democrat presidential nominee who lost to Richard Nixon in a historic landslide, and ex-Sen. Arlen Specter, the outspoken Pennsylvania centrist. Others from the world of politics: Bill Janklow, Norodom Sihanouk, Charles "Chuck" Colson, Warren B. Rudman, Andrew Breitbart and Miguel de la Madrid.

Notable deaths include Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon, Dick Clark, the oldest teenager, Whitney Houston, singer with a life full of controversy, and Joe Paterno, whose life was forgotten over the scandal surrounding him.

There were many headlines in 2012, the reelection of President Obama following the yearlong political campaign, the shootings in Colorado, and more recently in Sandy Hook, The Olympics and news of a pregnancy of the future king of England.

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I was talking with my friend whose aunt is having her 100th birthday.  She was born on January 1, so I started looking to see who else was born on January 1.  Some notable names popped up such as Paul Revere and Betsey Ross.  For a list of others click here: http://www.nndb.com/lists/518/000106200/

So, today, I am going to get out the new calendar that my aunt gives me each year for Christmas, throw away the old one, and clean off my desk and start fresh.   We at KISBYTO want to thank you for your loyal patronage, and your visits have exceeded our expectations at nearly half a million views.  We plan to continue to inform you and entertain you and provide you with fresh and new articles in the coming year, and we value your comments and suggestions.

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So now that we have started the year with a Bang....lets keep it going the rest of the year!

It’s 2012

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By Diane Forrest,

Happy New Years!  Well it is finally here, 2012.  It is a day for new beginnings, out with the old.  The beginning of the New Year is depicted by the "retirement" of father time and the birth of baby new year.   This is celebrated at nearly every hospital across the country.  It was always an exciting time at my hospital to see when the first baby of the year would be born.  The hospital would gather gifts and prizes from local merchants and wait in anticipation for baby New Year.

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Another famous tradition of the day is the Rose Bowl Parade.  Every year I would love to watch the parade, see the fantastic floats and energetic horses.  These people are very serious about their parade, and the rules and regulations are very strict.  People who participate in the float building process begin planning them the day after the parade, and work on it all year long.

Another holiday tradition is the making of a Resolution.  A resolution is a commitment a person makes to accomplish a goal to better their life.  Some common resolutions include:

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A traditional New Year's Day dinner at my home included black eyed peas for luck and greens for money. In the Southern United States, it's traditional to eat black-eyed peas or cowpeas in a dish called hoppin' john. There are even those who believe in eating one pea for every day in the New Year. This all traces back to the legend that during the Civil War, the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, ran out of food while under attack. The residents fortunately discovered black-eyed peas and the legume were thereafter considered lucky.  The Dutch consider it lucky to eat donuts, or any round food, they consider it to symbolize coming full circle.

What not to eat, or foods considered unlucky, are lobsters, because the walk backward, and chicken, because the scratch backward, and this symbolizes moving backwards, instead of forward in the New Year.

No matter how you choose to celebrate the New Year, whether it is spending time with friends and family, watching the parade and football games, or even nursing a hangover, We would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

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