So, Dr. Anthony Fauci is telling us not to attend large New Year’s Eve gatherings with strangers.  

Of all the advice Fauci has delivered during what appears to be a never-ending COVID pandemic, the warning about New Year’s parties is one I can find no complaints with the terms of possible restrictions on my personal life.  

I have never understood New Year’s Eve parties.  

We celebrate the end of a year which has been filled with good moments and also not so good moments. Regardless of whether it was a good year or bad year for you, basically you are celebrating the passing of another year of your life. On the other hand, New Year’s Eve parties welcome in a new year filled with new possibilities.  

But as we have learned, especially over the past two years, a new year is filled with unpredictability and uncertainty. Optimism may reign on January 1, but what can we really expect from a new year?  

In the past few New Year’s Eve’s, I have spent an evening at an excellent restaurant with my longtime girlfriend. COVID prevented us from eating out last year on New Year’s Eve. I wonder what will happen this year with Omicron on the rampage.  

New Year’s Eve parties are filled with alcohol and are amateur nights for so many people not used to heavy drinking. Instead of a time for partying, I see Dec. 31 as a time for serious reflection.  

What did we do or not do the previous 364 days? What do we expect from ourselves in the new year ahead? What is practical? What is possible? Only God knows what is in store of each of us in 2022. And he usually doesn’t give any hints about the future.  

We can look back on our history as a country and we can point to many eras we can refer to as “troubled times.”  

But I don’t recall a time when there is so much hatred, so much distrust, so much frustration, so much violence and so much confusion. I don’t think the present situation of our country calls for a party.  

Truth be known, parties of any sort are not high on my priority list. I have spent New Year’s Eve at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., and a couple of times on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, La. I don’t need a big extravaganza. Been there. Done that.  

If our dinner isn’t canceled due to COVID, we will have a nice meal and then maybe watch some football. I have to admit my favorite New Year’s Eve was several years ago when I spent the evening and the better part of the after-midnight hours watching a marathon of movies featuring the Marx Brothers and W.C. Fields. I don’t need much on New Year’s Eve. A laugh or two will do just fine.