Happy New Year’s Eve Day!
Speaking of which ...
Bob: Just happened to come across the yearly article in the Beacon Journal asking for volunteers for the New Year’s Eve event “First Night.”
The first time years ago I heard about the event, I was confused. I had thought it was a New Year’s Day event — as in Jan. 1 being the “first day” of the year and, therefore, the night of Jan. 1 is the “first night.”
Ever since then, it has bugged me that an event held on Dec. 31, the “last” night of the year, is called “First Night.”
In order to be grammatically correct, I propose that we start a campaign to do one of two things:
1. Change the event to Jan. 1 or
2. Change the name to “Last Night.”
Ellie Nape
Granger Township
Ellie: It took you 20 years to air this beef? Where were you in 1996, when Bill Clinton was in his first term, phones were not smart and the Cleveland Browns (thankfully) did not exist?
On the other hand, I’m not sure we would have been able to overturn the name because:
1. Akron’s First Night was based on a bunch of other big alcohol-free New Year’s Eve celebrations with that name. In fact, so many cities had already climbed on the bandwagon (about 60) that there was an umbrella organization called First Night International.
2. For many people, using the term “Last Night” in conjunction with a party can carry bad connotations (“I did what last night?”).
To figure out this perplexing and vexing name contradiction, Ellie, perhaps we need to go all the way back to the first First Night, held in Boston on the last night of 1975.
What were those folks thinking? Well, we can only guess, because obviously no one from that era is still alive today.
OK, maybe that’s not true. But I’m still going to take a guess because doing otherwise would require me to do some actual research,and I want to get out of here to get ready for New Year’s Eve. Here’s my guess: The founders figured “First Night” would be appropriate because it would mark the first night in the history of the republic that a big group of Bostonians would get together on Dec. 31 and not drink.
Breaking old news
Interesting news release sent out the other day by the office of State Rep. Greta Johnson, D-Akron.
She was taking credit for the release of state funds for such things as school demolition projects and the construction of new schools.
The third paragraph said $3.57 million that will be going to Akron City Schools includes money that “will aid in the demolition of Betty Jane, Mason and Voris elementary schools.”
Well, I hate to rain on her victory parade, but:
• Betty Jane was demolished in August 2012.
• Mason was demolished in July 2012.
• Voris was demolished in April 2013.
Hard to believe someone who represents the taxpayers of Akron doesn’t have a better handle on what’s going on in Akron.
Sign this
The recent full-page advertisement in support of the University of Akron, signed by 39 community leaders, got under the skin of one reader — not because of their support, but because of their signatures.
She left this anonymous voicemail:
“Look at all those signatures. I thought, with your sense of humor, it would be interesting to do a column on people’s signatures, because some are so ridiculous you couldn’t read them if they gave you a prize.
“When I see a signature that’s so unreadable, the first thing I think is ego has to be involved. And then I wonder how long that person sat at a desk and worked on that to get it where it was.
“I don’t know whether you think its a good idea or not, but I think you could make a real fun column out of that.”
No, that would not be a fun column. My signature is illegible.
So I’m signing off. Taking my pen and going home.
Gotta get in one more signature practice session before 2016.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com. He also is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bob.dyer.31