I wrote about this last year and it bears repeating.
Go ahead, don the party hats, make all the noise you want tonight.
After all, we only turn the calendar over once a year.
But there are two specific things no one should do at midnight. No, singing 'Auld Lang Syne is not one of them.
No, we're targeting a couple of other so-called traditions.
First, if you are planning to imbibe, do not get behind the wheel. Make sure someone in the group is tabbed to be the designated driver. Call a cab. Many nightspots actually will pay for the ride home.
We deal with enough sad stories here at the newspaper every day. We really don't need to kick off the new year with more tragedy, lives damaged or needlessly lost because someone decided they were "fine" and drove home when they had no business getting behind the wheel.
Need another reason? There will be lots of DUI checkpoints out there. Want to start the new year behind bars?
There's one other tradition we'll take a solid stand against. That would be the inane practice of firing off guns to ring in the new year.
Have you ever heard the old adage, "What goes up must come down?" Same goes for bullets.
There are more than enough gun problems plaguing our towns. Let's not add any more.
Here's hoping for a great -- and most of all safe -- new year!