We rang in the New Year with a 1950s cocktail party. Costumes were recommended, encouraged, applauded and appreciated.
Eli took a class in bartending while in Argentina last year, and mixed some very colorful cocktails for some of us, and some very tasty mocktails for the kids, teetotalers, and designated drivers. He dressed the part, right down to the fake cigarette that made little puffs of corn starch when blown into.
We have the best friends in the world! We can always count on the Rahn Gang to come dressed to the nines…
Check out those poodle skirts!
We had our beatnik, our cube(squarer than square), and our cool cat.
Remember the Alamo? How about Davy Crockett of the Wild Frontier, the rage in the late fifties?
Speaking of wild, Cousins Nancy and Ian lent some class to the party when they arrived looking like James Bond and Jackie O, only better.
And in a class of their own…Sue, Rick, and Stu!
They brought soft drinks I haven’t seen since the ’50s AND….
(Hey, Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!)
…the fine fare we were raised on back then: Bugles, Velveeta, Franz Fruit Pies, Vienna Sausages, and Hostess Twinkies, Cupcakes, and Ding Dongs!
Not to mention Wonder Bread and baloney!
My new favorite photo in the world—Sue holding “Mommy’s Little Helper.”
Our bartender kept ’em coming, mostly non-alcoholic drinks with all kinds of fruity juices adorned with tiny umbrellas. I saw a really pretty drink go by, and asked for one just like it. I thought it was a mocktail, but it went straight to my head. “Isn’t this non-alcoholic?” I asked. Eli replied, “Mom, if it were a virgin cocktail it probably wouldn’t be called ‘Sex on the Beach’.” Yeah, probably not. But I did discover how much I enjoy Sex On the Beach.
At midnight, like always, we toasted the New Year with a chorus of Auld Lang Syne and a round of Boston Coolers, the perfect combination of Vernor’s ginger ale and vanilla ice cream. 
Dear friends, family, followers, and all my blogging buddies, here’s wishing you a very Happy New Year!
And one last nod to the old year…
Many thanks to Sarah Potter, of sarahpotterwrites for nominating me for The 2013 Blog of the Year Award. Sarah is a novelist, a talented musician, and a poet with a fresh voice and a sly sense of humor. Her mastery of the haiku is a wonder. Please check out her blog!
Writing Between the Lines 