Happy New Year From Alexandria

Happy New Year to all SSTers (and everyone else)

King Street, Alexandria, Virginia on New Years Eve - 2013  pl

Comments

[r. whitman]

Happy New Year from Texas.

[Peter]

Happy New Years Eve from Galveston Texas, site of several Hurricanes that have tried to push humans to higher ground over the last two hundred years.

Galveston fell into Union hands on October 4th 1862 and was retaken New Years Day 1863.

"In the early hours of New Year’s Day, 1863, however, Confederate forces under the command of John Bankhead Magruder launched a bold attack to recapture the city. Confederate infantry moved into the city under the cover of darkness, taking advantage of the Federal troops’ habit of barricading themselves on the wharves at night, while converted riverboats mounting cannon and piled high with cotton bales attacked the naval vessels in the harbor. The attack ended with an almost complete Confederate victory. Harriet Lane and three Union transports were captured; another gunboat, U.S.S. Westfield, ran aground and was blown up by her own crew to prevent capture. Wainwright and the senior Union officer, Commander William B. Renshaw, were both killed." source http://nautarch.tamu.edu/

The Federal Blockade of the ports all along the Texas Gulf is continuing to amaze me. This shows how on both sides, maritime skills were in great demand.

[Petrous]

A happy and prosperous New Year to you and yours as well. From Florida.

[Jose]

Happy New Year, enjoy your pool parties...

[Lord Curzon]

Colonel,

Happy New Year Sir, all the best for 2012.

[The Beaver]

Warmest wishes for the best possible 2012, full of good health and happiness, and some good fortune and prosperity!!!

[YT]

Peter,

Thanks for that nice tidbit on the War Between the States.

Happy New Year to you as well.

[J]

Dreams of the caucasian highlander
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pb0rfaKUMs

[Maureen Lang]

Wishing all at SST/TA a prosperous, peaceful 2013.

Auld Lang Syne- Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx6bsozO9xg
Per youtube:
This is an original Decca label Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadian's 45 record of the famous "Auld Lang Syne" being played on a 1951 Seeburg BL jukebox. I found it at a record shop for 10 cents. The pops and hisses from the scratchy 45 make it that much better.

[Charles I]

Happy New Year and best wishes for you in it to one and all.

Thanks for keeping on this past nutty year, Pat. Cheers

[Charles I]

Loved the tall stone buildings. Was that tea they were picking?

[Douglass Schumacher]

and Happy New Year from Columbus, OH. Best wishes Pat, Maureen, and the correspondents of SST.

[William R. Cumming]

A Happy New Year to all!

2012 an amazing year in which a President without vision or policies elected largely because a man who campaigned almost ceasely for a decade had no idea where the country was in its understanding of itself or others.

A rough four years ahead IMO for a country whose leaders largely fail the tests of gravitas and governing ability.

[robt willmann]

For the New Year, here is a little light comedy as a break from the dark comedy of the U.S. Congress and its pathetic activity surrounding the federal budget and "money", and as it has once again banged up against the debt ceiling today (not much mention of that by the media chattering class, though). From which federal retirement accounts will they steal money for general operations until the debt ceiling might again be raised?

But on this festive night, here is the funny little video shown every New Year's Eve on German television -- "Dinner for One". There is a brief introduction in German, and then the skit is in English.

http://www.ndr.de/unterhaltung/comedy_satire/dinner_for_one/dinnerforone191.html

Happy New Year!

[optimax]

Happy New Year from Portland, OR.

[David]

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

[Hank Foresman]

Happy New Year to One and All

[505thPIR]

Happy New Year Pat, Maureen and SSTCommunity from Beautiful British Columbia! Have truly enjoyed SST these past several years. To Health and Reason in 2013!!

[confusedponderer]

Happy New Year from Cologne to the fabulous SST crowd and to our generous host.

And indeed, to Health and Reason in 2013!

[Charles I]

Happy New Year SST'ers and the rest of Creation from Muskoka. May we all treat the new year as best as possible.

[Tom in Texas]

Happy New Year to One & All from Dallas!

[Medicine Man]

Happy New Year from Burnaby BC.

[David Habakkuk]

Happy New Year to all, from west London. I will gladly follow 505thPIR in drinking to 'Health and Reason' -- and indeed, on reflection, in some respects, if not in others, the prospects for 'Reason' look a bit better tonight than they did this time last year.

Also on reflection, I will drink a toast to those members of the House of Commons who listened to their constituents over the Syrian WMD issue. And I will also drink a toast to General Martin Dempsey. It may be ignorance that makes me think him the best CJCS in many years, but certainly he has been a source of hope to many outside the United States.

[optimax]

Happy New Year. There was a story on the internet the other day about how the jews in Israel are torn over celebrating New Years because they consider it a Christian holiday even though they call it Saturnalia. I'm getting tired of hearing about jews searching for their unique identity. They are too self-absorbed, not the ones I know personally but the ones who think everything jewish is worth writing about.

Here's a short little Christmas story my brother sent me.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB123008300586132083

[Walrus]

Happy new year, I hope we all have a great 2014, from Walrus in Melbourne, Australia.

Now going off to a Moët, Prawn and Oyster lunch with about 100 fellow revellers.