We were sitting at the breakfast table a few days ago and somehow got to talking about how we had just passed the shortest day of the year, and winter was officially here. Of course it means little to complain about the dark and dreary days, but we were lamenting how early the dark comes in the evening these days. Even though two months have passed now since Daylight Savings Time ended, we still aren't accustomed to the early sunset every day. I was reminded of how my mother-in-law, Zula Patterson, used to say, in almost every letter to us, "I just wish they'd leave this time alone!" Of course she was wishing they'd just forget Daylight Savings time entirely, whereas we might like the longer evening light all through the year. I was reminded that for farm people, the idea of tinkering with the clocks always seemed kind of foolish; since we went by the sun all year, whatever the clock said at any given time of day.
We encouraged ourselves at the breakfast table by saying that as the New Year begins the days will start getting longer, and the sunsets will come a little later every day, until before we know it, springtime will be here. Right now, springtime seems like a long ways away. But we have already had our December white, and it seems like the worst of winter should be over already; No?! OK, we start 2014 with the temperatures in the teens. But I'm going to say that that's better than having the beginning of World War I in 1914, a hundred years ago. I'm remembering also that my Dad was born almost 100 years ago, in 1914, and that in 1914, the age of the automobile was coming into bloom. Good, along with some bad?
I didn't stay up quite late enough on this New Year's Eve to watch the lighted ball drop in Times Square, New York, on television. I tend to look for excitements of a gentler flavor than some may wish. Since I grew up on a dairy farm, I never became accustomed to doing parties or big celebrations. We tended to go by the old philosophy that "Early to Bed and Early to Rise Makes a Man Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise!" (even on New Year's Eve). I think that came from Poor Richard's Almanac. During my college days I could stay up until 3 a.m. and get to a 7:30 a.m. class, but as I get older, the late nights take longer to recuperate from, and it just seems more fun to get a good night's sleep.
I have enjoyed during my years as pastor of churches the observing of Watch Night celebrations. These were times of fellowship, visiting with friends, enjoying music and games, capped off at midnight with a devotional time of renewed commitments, praying for one another and for the world in the new year, and looking forward to the promises and potentials ahead of us.
Have you ever seen so many bowl games on TV? In earlier days I recall that there was the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Sugar Bowl and the Cotton Bowl. Now, there seems to be multiple bowl games every day for the season, the GoDaddy Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl! No Coca Cola Bowl!?? How about a Pizza and Pretzels Bowl!? Sometimes I think we have gone crazy over football. But I did enjoy watching the Oklahoma Sooners beat the Alabama Crimson Tide Thursday. It restores one's sense that sometimes your stuff goes right, your efforts jell, you all get it together, and things go your way. Maybe that's why we watch football for New Years, hoping that we can get things going our way and have some successes this year. Happy New Year, Razorbacks and Coach Bret. It is a new year and a new day!
I also have yet to hear anyone singing "Auld Lang Syne" so far this year for New Year's. I never really understood it for a long time, but it has long been traditional to sing "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight as the new year begins.
"Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne? CHORUS: For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, We'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne."
It is an old Scots song, partially collected and partially composed by the poet Robert Burns (1788), and set to an old, old, folk tune. We never had much use for taverns or for lifting cups of ale, but the old song seems to celebrate friendships remembered and appreciated and lifting the cup for old times sake! I'll think of that as I lift my cup of coffee.
I rather like that idea of looking back, cherishing some great people, and appreciating the blessings the years have given, as we turn to the future ahead of us, and take up fitting tasks and goals, worthy of the heritage we have received. In Now and Then columns, I am often looking back, remembering earlier days, and sometimes celebrating for old times sake, but not just for nostalgia, and not just in longing for "the good old days," but more in the hope of looking forward with a better perspective, a clearer vision, and a greater appreciation for all things good and hopeful.
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Editor's note: Jerry Nichols, a native of Pea Ridge, is an award-winning columnist and a retired Methodist minister with a passion for history. He is vice president of the Pea Ridge Historical Society. He can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected], or call 621-1621.
Editorial on 01/08/2014