Happy New Year

By Bud Focht

Hi, my name is Bud and I wanted to wish you a Happy New Year.

As you are probably aware it is customary to wish someone a Happy New Year the first time you see them after January 1. But what is the cut-off date? What if you don’t see the person until the end of January?  Or later? Is it okay to wish someone a Happy New Year and Happy Valentine’s Day in the same breath?

There is an old Scottish poem called Auld Lang Syne which translates to “old long since” but more or less means “long, long ago”, “days gone by” or simply “old times.”  The first line of the song, “For auld lang syne” could be translated as “for the sake of old times.”

Growing up, when Dick Clark was still hosting American Bandstand before he rocked in New Year’s Eve, I remember Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadian band would perform Auld Land Syne on television New Year’s Eve.

Since then I enjoyed Dan Fogelberg’s sampling of it in his Same Old Lang Syne song and before that I think I heard Jimi Hendrix play it when he was Live at the Fillmore East. (I was never heavily into Hendrix although his National Anthem is my favorite rendition.) And I remember when Billy Joel played in the old Spectrum in Philadelphia around Christmas time he played Auld Lang Syne toward the end of the show.

Auld Lang Syne always seemed like a sad song to me instead of a celebratory one. This is the time of year where we should be celebrating, both all of the good things that took place in 2014 and the promise of better days to follow in 2015.

Looking back, my initial thoughts on 2014 are not good. After all, a year in which there is an Ebola outbreak, a terror group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) makes itself known and you are told your best friend has an incurable disease cannot be looked at in a positive way.

Being told my wife Terry has Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease back in the spring was the worst thing that has ever happened to me. However, I am trying to look at the year as a whole and decide if it was a good year or not.

On the plus side of the ledger, I can now bring back Cuban cigars for my friends when I visit Canada, a friend of my son’s competed in the Winter Olympics in Sochi and Terry and I had some great trips together.

We went to Montreal for a family reunion that had over 30 people in attendance, including all nine of Terry’s siblings, some of their spouses, her mother and a few nieces and nephews.

We went to the Jersey Shore over a half dozen times, where we took long, pleasant walks in the sunshine while breathing in the fresh, salty sea air.

We traveled to New England a few times, visiting the home where Terry grew up and the park where she won many tennis trophies, along with visiting her relatives.

And of course we traveled to Kauai, Hawaii, for a tremendous week in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

In addition to the trips, Terry and I spent more time together this year than in any other year since we met in 1978.

So for that reason alone it has to be in consideration for being thought of as a good year.

Terry even travels with me on many of my work-related road trips. So far this winter she has gone with me to Philadelphia, New Rochelle, NY, Hartford, Connecticut, Staten Island and Poughkeepsie, NY.

However, the reason why we had all of those great trips, the reason why we spent so much time together this past year, that is way over on the other side of the ledger.

It is never a positive when you are told it is Bucket List time.

Most people hate it when the alarm clock goes off in the morning and you have to get out of that warm, comfortable bed to face the hard, cold world.

I guess sometimes we all need a ‘wake-up’ call. We get stuck in our ruts and forget about the big picture. We forget about our priorities. We forget about what is really important.

That is one thing that Terry’s diagnosis did for me. It woke me the hell up.

I wouldn’t say I was taking Terry for granted, but I was certainly taking our time together for granted. We planned on and looked forward to growing old together.

Now I am told that is not going to happen.

So we tried to make the most out of 2014 and I think we were successful. We did a lot of great things and we did them together.  We learned to appreciate things more.

If the weather did not cooperate and we had to cancel our outdoor plans, instead of being upset we couldn’t do what we had planned, I was happy that I was able to just sit around the house watching television or putting a jig saw puzzle together with my best friend.

I used to hate jig saw puzzles but Terry likes them and, as country singer Blake Shelton says, “I like doing what she likes.”

If nothing else, 2014 was a great learning experience.

Looking forward to 2015, I doubt I will receive any news as traumatic as the news I received last April. That’s the good news. The bad news is that with every passing day we get closer to the point where Terry’s meds will stop working and her brain will start to deteriorate more and more.

I guess we all have to learn to take the good with the bad. 2014 had plenty of both.  I just hope 2015 has more good than bad.

Until next time, Happy New Year,

Bud