Hi Story Goers, I got so involved with "A Miled Makeover," I had to break it into two story events. Now fess up!, isn't this better than reading, "I hate club member posts"

New Years at Times Square:
The prelude to this event started with the forecast of heavy snow on Saturday. I, like others, used the forecast as the "Round to it" to get things accomplished that I swore I would do before winter set in. This involved filling up gas cans, propane tanks, moving things undercover, and the like. When I awoke, I looked outside to justify my hard last minute winter cramming, only to see that the snow had been canceled. I heard that NJ and NY was hit pretty hard, so I checked with Tony DeJoie to see if he and his "girl" friend were still going to make it. It was still a "go" for him, so I called Peter Mills to see what his situation was. Although the snow was plentiful, the event was still on. An earlier e-mail from him had questioned if I should arrive at his house earlier than planned. I answered that I was planning to arrive at noon time on Sunday.
Because of the fresh snow, I decided to leave early in the morning so that when we came to the inevitable accident, the traffic jam would not delays us past our projected arrival. Also, I didn't know how much snow would be left on the roads. Travel would be slower in general. I normally allow 3.5 hours to get to Peter's house. This time I allowed 5 hours. Craig and I packed the Civic 4wd the night before, but I still got up at 0500 to get myself ready and to make last minute checks. We picked up a few extra items on the way and with traffic ranging from light to nonexistent we arrived at the Mills' at 1000. I was glad that I used the Civic, because even though the roads had at least one lane clear, you would still come to a section around a corner that the snow had drifted across all lanes. This is where the accidents were, but with so few cars on the road, there wasn't any hold ups, just a little slower driving.
Pete had most of the yard shoveled when I arrived. Realizing that I had committed one of the most horrible of guest sins (arriving before expected) and from the comments made by an "unprepared for my arrival" Sylvia, I decide Craig and I should go out and shovel snow. When Pete arrived, he told a story of how he and Sylvia were heading out to shovel the yard together when the phone rang. By the time Sylvia finished with her conversation, Pete had 3/4 of the yard shoveled. Hearing such a horrifying story I decide to help Pete shovel the walk at his business. This seemed to make more sense than my other action, which was to comment on Sylvia having an escape call so she wouldn't have to shovel snow; or maybe, "Syl, I know you like to keep things looking like new, but really, it is permissible to use the shovel." (arriving early + sarcastic comment = unwanted trouble. See, I am learning)
I asked Pete if he knew of a reason why I would need to bring more clothes than what I was wearing. He said no. I forgot just how long of a "walk" Peter had, and to top that off, the wind was blowing around the building. Pete tried to use the oldest trick in the book. Which is, "I'll stand up wind and through snow that will blow on to the unprotected helper." Having done this many times myself, I told Peter, "No thanks, I'll go over here and shovel."
There are two sayings that I practice when I work:
1) Your work is your signature, sign it with excellence!
2) People will remember how well you did the job, not how long it took you.
With this in mind, I scrape the snow on the walk down to the surface, and clear a path that is about 6 inches wider than the walk and taper the snow outwards so that it will not fall back into the walk. Pete on the other hand has cleared a path that is a little wider than his hips and has moved on to the next section. Fearing a comment from me and to make the sections on the walk look uniform, he makes his new path as wide as mine. After finishing my lengthy section and realizing we would be back to a situation where he would be up wind of me, I suggested he start shoveling the steps. This gave me a chance to widen Peter's original path so that it would all look uniform. I could see Pete was wondering why I was shoveling a place that he already had shoveled, so I told him my devious plan. Knowing that Sylvia would feel bad about me doing Peter's chores, I just knew she would be down with hot cocoa and a snack. When she arrived I wanted it to look like I did the lions share of the work so that she would give Pete hell, and I would get more of the treats! Peter smiled at my comment and made some rebuttal about how I didn't know Sylvia very well. He was right, she didn't come.
Back at the house, we warmed up, Sylvia felt presentable (she always looks presentable in my opinion), we had a snack, and showed each other new pictures. Tony arrived (at the proper time) with his girl friend originally from India and now from Louisiana. She has a very pretty name (Bhag·ya·va·ti), but because most people screw it up, she has shortened her name to Bags. After introductions, we looked at pictures Tony had taken at NSXPO and had the lunch which Sylvia had prepared. Before long it was time to head to the train station for our journey to Times Square; to witness the ball drop, signifying the beginning of the new year, decade, century and millennium (that's a lot of bang for the buck). We packed a cooler with champagne, cheese, water, and the rest of her sandwiches (just in case).
The train ride was uneventful (other than the distractions Tony and I caused Bags) with plenty of seats available. Craig let Bags borrow a book to read for the trip down. Tony and I made sure that she couldn't read more than a couple of lines before we asked her a question. She tells me a story about movies that she and Tony rented, but she was the only one that watched them because.......Tony SLEPT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING!! I like Bags. She is fun, easy going, and fits into our group's personality very well. As we get off the train, Peter takes lead in our walk to the Renaissance Hotel.

[In brief, I called Miled in December and he was able to get a hotel reservation for us, in Times Square, on short notice, for a VERY reasonable New Year's Eve rate. Without his effort, this trip would not have been pleasantly memorable. Thanks again buddy, from all of us.]

Pete and Syl are in front, Craig and I are in the middle (refer to Larry gets culture to understand why), and Tony and Bags bring up the rear. This is Craig's first time in NYC and he is taking in all the sights and sounds. It is about 1500 (3 PM) by the time we reach the hotel and the police have started to barricade the area to control the amount of people that will arrive for the new years event. We go in the ground floor only to discover that the lobby is the next floor up. The plan is to register in only my name, and bring the rest of the group up as temporary guests. The real reason for the motel room is to use it as a staging area in case we get cold, have to use the bathroom, and also as assured access into Times Square (the police restrict entrance after a certain time and if you leave, you can't get back in). The room isn't quite ready, so we wait in the lobby for about 20 minutes. When I receive the key, the desk states that I will need the room key and a pass to get back into the motel. I ask how friends will be able to visit me. I am told that they will have to wait outside and I will have to escort them up to the room. Seems fair enough. Our group, escorted by me, head towards the elevator where once again we have to show our papers (room key) before the Gestapo will allow us to proceed on to the elevator. Up we go to our 21st story room. The window view is nice, but it is not on the side where we will see the ball drop. No problem, we wanted to be in the crowd to feel the whole experience. We have almost 8 hours until the ball drops, so we go downstairs to explore. Sylvia points out the place she goes to for discount Broadway play tickets. There are few people in line so we look to see what shows are available. We decide the 2000 (8 PM) showing of Chicago will be good. The tickets are 50% off, but you have to pay in cash. I check to see if I have enough cash for two tickets. The man at the ticket booth is very abrupt and impatient. I ask again about the amount that is needed and he gruffly answers. Peter tells me, "Welcome to New York!" With time to spare before the play starts, I ask Pete if we can take Craig to the places that they had shown me on my previous trip. So off we go looking at Christmas trees, decorations, and other points of interests.
We go to Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, NBC studios and the like. We decide to eat before the play, so being near some restaurants, we chose Mexican. The meal is good, the price is reasonable, and with the time where it is; we decide to go directly to the play. Because of the police barricades, we cannot take a direct route, but having "tickets" lets us through other places unattainable by the common person. With no big lines to stand in, it was a speedy entrance. We are all seated in one row. The lights are down, the actress is singing, and during a pause in her song; out comes a snorting sound from our group location. I start vibrating silently with laughter, for I know what happened. Sure enough, Tony fell asleep and let out a snort. Either the noise woke him or Bags hit him so it wouldn't happen again, but either way, there wasn't a repeat. After the play, Craig weaseled a Chicago T-shirt out of me for a souvenir. We headed back to the motel to hit the little aviators room, have a snack, and break open the champagne. Once again, the "I have a motel key," was instrumental in getting us through the police barricades. Only one little problem...........when we got to the motel, the rules had changed. The motel required that everyone entering have a key. OK, how do I get out of this one without having to pay an over occupancy tax for more than one paid person in the room. I talk to the desk clerk and explain that they are not staying the night, but just coming to visit and warm up. This doesn't pose a problem with him. "How many people will be with you," he asks. "Just five others," I replied. "FIVE!! You can't have more than four to a room!" So how do we make this work? "All I can give out is four keys to a room number, the computer will not accept the coding of other keys to the same number." "You'll have to get another room," he continued. I figured I was in enough trouble as it was and although flashing a $5 spot does wonders in Maine, I figured if I tried it here I would be tossed out by Mr. Gestapo face. I am holding up the line, we're both getting uncomfortable with the situation, so he mumbles me this plan.
I'll register four of you in the room, that way you will have four keys. Four of you can go up, then one come down and hand two of your keys to the other people in your party. Gottcha. I smile and get Craig, Peter, and Sylvia to sign in. The bewildered look on their face tells me that they think they will be charged for a room. I said just do it, I'll explain later. While they are signing in, I explain the plan to Tony and Bags. "You stay here, I'll send someone down for you in a bit." By then, four of us have keys, we flash them at the boarder guard, and take the vertical lift device to our floor.

Excuse me while I go make supper.

I'm ba...ack; sorry, just a little gas.

Once inside we take a vote as to who will sneak the keys to our comrades. Three of us decide that Sylvia is the best qualified. She tries to back out of it, but we insist. She is acting very nervous about doing this highly illegal act, knowing if she gets caught she will get 20 to life. We try to console her and she leaves. I look at Pete and ask if he thinks we did the right thing sending her, we both have second thoughts. I notice a bottle of champagne in the room. I'm wondering if this is a complimentary bottle or is it the dreaded $100 bottle that gets charged to my incidental list that they swiped my credit card for when we checked in. A phone call to guest services reveals that it IS complementary. Time passes but still no Sylvia. I tell Pete, "Ya know, it doesn't take THAT long to get to the lobby and back, what do you suppose happened." I knew we shouldn't have sent her. She's probably in the managers office begging for forgiveness and turning us in at this very moment. Our only hope is that she is using the secret weapon that all women have; Pouting and crying. My other hope is that she is not using what she HAS used in the past; Kicking ass and taking names (I don't think that tactic will work in NYC). As we try to decide who will be the "lucky" person to go look for her, Tony and Bags show up. "Where's Sylvia?", I ask. "She'll be here in a bit."
If I can remember the story; Sylvia didn't want to look conspicuous, so she sat down, talked to them for a while before giving then the keys. It also turned out that we in the room were never in any danger at all, because.........Sylvia couldn't remember which room we were in. :-)))
Well, we're all together now so Pete cracks open the bottle of champagne. We ask if he knows how to do this, but in spite of his reassurance, I hide and turn my head away from ground zero; Craig curls up in the fetal position on the bed. Pete with the mastery of a skilled wino doesn't blow his cork, I mean no champagne was spilled. We polish that bottle off and move on to our supply. After the next bottle, and a little TV watching, it is time to head down into the crowd. I give Miled a call to wish Happy New Year, and we're off. The whole experience is electrifying. The crowd is noisy, helicopters hover above, and the neon lights are bright on Broadway...on Broadway (bet you wondered how long it would be before I let that phrase out didn't ya). I take some pictures of the crowd and ask Bags to get up on my shoulders to take some better shots. She declines, I persist, and before she can say "No, I'm not going to do it," my head goes between her legs (keep it clean now) and up she goes. Once up there, I guess she kind of likes it, because she won't answer is she got the shot and whether she wants to come down. I decide she's been up there long enough and crouch down to let her off. The clock is ticking down, the crowd is getting louder, horns are blowing, the ball starts to slip down the pole, people count down from; 10....9....8....7....6....5....4....3....2....1....HAPPY NEW YEARRRRR!!!!!
Tons of confetti blow out from big guns located on the tops of buildings, fireworks go off, everyone is screaming, and believe it or not, they were all orderly.
After the hugs and hand shakes people start to file back into the hotel for parties. We tell Tony and Bags that we will send someone out with the keys again, but it will take a while because the line is moving very slow. After the four of us make it to the room, we send Craig down this time (he likes this escape and evasion stuff). My only fear is that he will keep going and "do" New York. They all return and now the decision comes. Pete wants to head back tonight, others are willing to fall asleep in place. I feel that the hotel has served it's purpose, whether we leave now or a few hours later makes no difference, and we came as a group; we should leave as a group. Others seem to agree, so we pack up, and head to check out. The walk back to central station seemed quick due to reminiscing of the days events. The city workers are already hard at work cleaning up any signs that a celebration has taken place. Once we boarded the train, I dozed on and off but could tell things didn't seem normal. The train we were on kept loosing power. There would be lights, acceleration, and movement.......then quite, lights out, and coasting. This process repeated until the train finally stopped. They dispatched another train and we were once again on our way.
I was awake now and knowing that Peter and Sylvia had another party to go to that day, I decided to head for PA. Hearing a thump upstairs made me realize that the Mills' were preparing for the groups overnight stay. Tony only lives about an hour from the Mills' so he was going back. I decided the night would be too short if I stayed, there would be little traffic at this time in the morning, so I told our hosts that Craig and I would be leaving also. I could tell Sylvia was disappointed that we were leaving, for she had already begun preparations, and was also concerned that I might fall asleep on the return trip. I assured her things would be OK. The trip home went very well. It was about 0600 when we arrived home. Now I was trying to decide what to do about sleeping. I knew if I went to sleep at this hour I wouldn't wake up until the middle of the afternoon. This would through my bio-clock off. When I only sleep for a few hours (like 2-4 hours), I usually feel groggy and have a headache. I have found that if I stay up and take a couple cat naps, I feel better in the long run. So I stayed awake until 2200 (10pm), went to bed, and woke up the next day feeling like usual. So my New Year's Day event lasted from 0500 Sunday morning until 2200 Monday night; a total of 41 hours. And that's what I call ringing in the new millennium!!
Starting the new year off right,
Larry G.

Oh Yes, Peter called on Tuesday to make sure we got home OK. Once a parent always a parent. Thanks Pete, your concern is welcomed.