I passed on a couple of invitations to experience some much-missed “social interaction” on New Years Eve:
First, I gently, thankfully (and hopefully GRACIOUSLY) declined an invite to a “low key” gathering at a friend’s careful effort to stage a “safe, thoughtful and hopefully RECONNECTIVE EXPERIENCE” that eventually somewhat belatedly devolved into a shared ONLINE/ELECTRONIC/“Stay-at-HOME-but-still-SEE-Talk-and-Wish-Each-Other-WELL!” affair, from what I heard...then a last minute Texas-wide suspension of the stricter rules governing the limitations and outright CLOSINGS of restaurants, bars and clubs spurred a lot of last-minute “GO-For-It!” plans triggered some last second calls from folks forming up to go downtown, hit the then suddenly opening 6th St after all neither appealed nor tempted me in the slightest:
My already well-hardened determination to “Wait’ll NEXT year and what is MUCH likelier to be ‘the REAL THING’ after ALL!!!” was never threatened.
I drank a bit, watched TV, surfed the net and talked to friends online AND on the phone around the country and the world—and still found myself in bed and dozing off around Midnight (Central Time)... I was surprised to be awakened by what sounded through closed windows on a chill night very much like the “Crump! Crump! Crump!” of heavy artillery. Heavy fireworks is more like it, of course—from downtown Austin (NOT so very far from my house south of Lady Bird Lake) AND the surrounding neighborhoods too! I guess people are so sick of being alone and isolated, an effort to “break routine” was welcome, at this point.
Anyway, hopefully for the most part all this was a “small down payment” on NEXT year’s MUCH bigger (and much more WARRANTED) “real thing”!
For now, I stand with E— and the sentiments above expressed towards ALL OF GATOR NATION, of course...
...and specifically to those that find their way HERE, to our “online Sanctuary” at Gator Envy...AND ABOVE ALL, in this case in PARTICULAR to my two “brothers-in-crime”, and our “conspiracy of SANITY” here at GE:
@Escambia94, and @Leakfan12,
Thanks for BEING here, Gators!
Sooner, rather than “LATER” (in the case of both the Pandemic AND our now YEARS out here, “wandering in the CFB DESSERT”) we will be richly and justly rewarded for our patience, insight and mutual support:
Soon, THE TIME OF OUR REDEMPTION WILL BE AT HAND...
And when it arrives, all will be “RE-paid in FULL”!!! The pain and frustration all worth the price after all, faith and determination rewarded in a pure avalanche of pleasure in the realization of reality fulfilling all our dreams.
Remember:
“GETTING THERE IS MORE THAN HALF THE FUN!!!”
And though we can’t be sure EXACTLY “when” OR “IF”, it IS coming, and SOON! Let’s make sure WE ARE THERE, to enjoy EVERY SECOND OF IT IN RICH, MINUTE DETAIL!