Okie dokie. Let's see here. I have to open up the podcast manual. How do podcasts?
Because I have a question. Here it is. What generally answer questions? What do you do when you're very inspired to do a podcast and your washing machine is going through the spin cycle and you can hear it through your headphones?
Answer on page 142. Hang on. Answer. Oh, you just people are real and they know that you're real and they know that you're you just you just do it.
OK, I guess that's let me put this book down. All righty, then it is now January 1st, 2024. Happy freaking New Year. And this.
Well, golly gee, you flickers. This is a day I'm daily grateful. Well, how are you? Did you get drunk last night?
I don't drink. I did. Did you go to a New Year's Eve party last night? You know, I have this rule.
I do not go to New Year's Eve parties. I don't want to be out on the road. There's crazy ass people out there. There's people blowing up fireworks all over the place.
There's drunk. No, I don't do it. Except this year. Damn it.
And I didn't want to do this. My dear old friend, Jennifer, love her dearly, known her since eighth grade. She like says, you know what? She calls me up like three weeks ago.
She says, I'm having a New Year's Eve party and you're coming. No, I'm not. I don't go to New Year's. You're coming.
You're coming. No, you have to promise me you're going to come. I've known you all my life. You're going to come.
You have to come. You have to come. You have to come. I said, okay.
Moment of weakness. Oh, man. You know, she can get to me. She knows how to get to me.
She knows very well how to get to me. You know, we're old friends. So, damn it. I said, I'm coming, but I'm not staying long.
I'm going to stay for about 30 minutes and then I'm bugging out. No, you're going to stay longer. My granddaughter's coming down for this. No, God.
I said, okay, I'm going to stay an hour. Then I'm out of there. You're going to stay late? No, I'm going to stay.
I'll take you for an hour. She was very good about that, kind of. So, anyway, it's dark out and this thing's starting at 7 o'clock. I am just all day.
I'm just, I don't want to go. I don't want to go. I don't want to go. Damn it.
I didn't want to go. Not because I don't love Jennifer. I love Jennifer very much. I adore Jennifer.
But I didn't want to go. I wanted to stay home. I wanted to listen to music. I wanted to have my house filled with wonderful music and listen to music.
That's what I wanted to do. But I went. So, at 7 o'clock at night, I get in my little truck and I'm driving over to Jennifer's house. And I'm on this one street and these people are blowing up fireworks and a rocket.
I swear to Jesus that a rocket flew right in front of me. You know, and I'm, holy cow. And I said, all right. So, I get to Jennifer's house.
I'm a bundle of nerves by them because I'm terrified of drunk drivers. I just don't like being out on New Year's Eve. I just don't. I don't ever have it.
I don't like it. Last time I went out for New Year's Eve is when my daughter, who is 37 years old now, we took her to a New Year's Eve Bare Naked Ladies concert in Tampa when she was 17. I don't do math. Anyway, so that was the last time I went out on New Year's Eve.
I don't go out on New Year's Eve. All right? Bare Naked Ladies is good. They did precision shopping cart.
It was fabulous. Anyway, so, and I got home safely. But anyway, that's the last time. So, I get to Jennifer's house at Park.
And I go in and I realize very quickly that Jennifer's not there. That's one thing. And I don't know anybody who's there. I walk into a house.
Jennifer's off getting a friend of hers. A girl that we went to high school with that I barely remember. Barely, barely remember. And, you know, but anyway, but we had a very nice thought.
But anyway, Jennifer's not there. And there's a room full of people that I do not know. I know none of these people. Granddaughter's there.
And, you know, one of her friends was watching over the granddaughters. She's five. And, you know, she's running all around. She's the only kid there.
So, I know nobody. So, people are saying, who are you? To me, they're saying, hi, who are you? I said, I'm not going to tell you.
You're going to have to figure it out. I, you know, I just, you know, I had an attitude. I had an attitude. So, the point of this podcast, The Daily Grateful, is to find joy in everything.
I'm in a room. I went to a party. I didn't want to go. Not that I don't love Jennifer.
I love Jennifer. I did not want to go. She's very good at that. I have energy today.
Don't mind. Anyway, I show up. You know, and these people do not know who I am. And, I just decided, I'm going to tell them who I am.
They're going to figure it out. So, we're just sitting there talking. And, I don't know any of these people. Nobody.
I know no one. But, I'm good at parties. If I can say one thing about myself, it is, I can say a bunch of stuff about myself. But, one thing I can say about myself is, I am great fun at parties.
And, the fact that I would not identify myself was a hell of a lot of fun. And, people were like, and then finally, one woman figured it out. One woman figured it out. By the way, it was all women.
There was another guy there who, it turns out, was a neighbor of Jennifer's. He was there with his wife. But, him and he didn't talk. And, I was like the only guy there in a room full of women that I did not know.
Oh, man. So, I'm having fun. I decided, I'm going to have fun. Where's Jennifer?
Jennifer's off getting a friend that we went to high school with. So, they show up. And, the woman brings her cat. She's got a litter box.
She's got her cat and a cat carrier. And, I said, why did she bring her cat? And, the woman sat down next to me. I did not recognize her.
I had no conscience. I remember, I knew who she was because Jennifer talks about her all the time. I remember her because she was in the Cosmo part of our high school where they taught people how to do hair. And, I used to go there because, you know, a lot of girls.
Anyway, she was one of those girls. But, I remember her from the shed. Blonde hair. Did not, if I would have been told, you're going to get $20 million if you recognize this person, I would not have gotten $20 million.
So, I had a better chance of winning the Powerball than figuring out, you know, who she was just by looking at her. But, we had a very nice conversation. It was very pleasant. And, then, I did something that I just kind of don't do anymore because I want to find joy in a situation where I'm in a place where I don't want to be.
And, there was this blonde woman there and her daughter. And, I started talking to the blonde woman's daughter who was very young. I could tell she was very young. And, I became overly impressed with her.
She graduated from college in Florida when she was like 19 and then just decided to get up and move to California all on her own. I said, did you have a job? She said, no. I just got on an airplane, flew to Los Angeles.
I had a couple hundred bucks and I decided to build a life there. How long was it? Six years. Six years.
She had been there. She got three jobs. She, overachiever, you know, worked her butt off, bought a brand new Ford Bronco of all things and then paid it off. I mean, this young lady, you know, I've got a 37-year-old daughter.
And, this girl's 25. She's 25 and she was just overachiever. So, I met her mom. Mom is blonde.
And, I decided I'm going to flirt with mom. Yes. Little old me. I decided I'm going to flirt with mom.
And, I'm just, you know, we're having this wonderful conversation and then Jennifer arrives with this woman and she moves the beautiful blonde away from where I'm sitting. And, off she goes and she sits this woman down next to me and I have a conversation with her. But, I'm still working on flirting with the blonde. And, I'm talking with her daughter.
Her daughter is just, I was, I was just saying, God, your mom and dad have to be so proud of you. And, you know, they just have to, you know, I gotta, you know, wow, how cool was it to meet her. It just made my whole night. It brought joy into me that I met this young lady and that she was so super and she had a cute mom.
And, I was going to make my moves. No, I wasn't going to make my moves. I'm too damn old. But, anyway, mom and her, she says, will you come outside?
Mom says to her, will you come outside with me? And, I'm sitting there in the back. What are they doing outside? And, Jennifer's there.
Where'd they go? I said, they went outside. What are they doing? I said, I'm going to bet one of them is out there smoking.
That's going to be my guess. And, she goes, I'll find out. I said, okay. So, I decided to go out there and my guess it was mom that was going to be smoking.
I was right, okay? And, which usually just kind of like, you know, turns me off. But, anyway, there's mom. But, I had such a good time, again, telling mom how proud I was of her daughter.
And, saying, great job you did. And, all of this. We just had this wonderful conversation. And, the daughter's looking at me.
I said, you know that I'm flirting with your mom, right? She goes, you know that she lives with a guy who's like big and burly. And, he's going to be here later. I said, this is going to be really interesting.
And, mom's looking at me like I'm nuts. But, I'm still flirting with her. And, she's like accepting the fact that I'm flirting with her. And, then, she has a boyfriend who's coming.
Bottom line is, boyfriend was tired and went to bed. Didn't come. Lucky him. But, I still flirted with mom for a little bit.
We went back in the house. And, I visited with Jennifer. And, we talked to people. Then, started figuring out who I was.
And, then, I decided it was now 9 o'clock. I was going to leave by 8 o'clock. It was now 9 o'clock. And, it was time for me to go bye-bye.
He decided to go bye-bye. As my granddaughter would say. Bye-bye. And, so, I said to Jennifer.
I said, hey, nice to meet you. And, I'm glad you stayed as long as she did. She gave me a kiss. I love Jennifer so much.
She did. And, it was, you know, there was food. It was wonderful. I didn't eat any food.
But, it was wonderful. But, there was a lot of food. But, I didn't eat any. And, so, I scoot out the door.
And, I don't see the blonde lady anywhere. And, I don't even remember her. Oh, I do remember her name. Her name is Melissa.
That's right. And, so, I'm walking out to my truck. And, who do I see out there by the driveway? It's sweet Melissa smoking another cigarette.
So, I just said, what a delight it was meeting you. And, that's when, you know. And, she said, yeah. She said, I'm sorry you didn't get to meet my boyfriend.
I said, that could have gotten very ugly. Because, I'm flirting with you. And, she's just laughing at me. You know.
And, we're having all this. So, it was just very, very, very nice. And, I got in my car. And, I nervously drove home.
I went from being very happy. Because, I'm having a good time. And, then I nervously drive home. And, people were driving like maniacs.
And, it's only 9 o'clock at night. It took me 12 minutes to get home. I pull up in my driveway. And, I come in.
And, I told. I can't tell you the name of the Amazon device that is in my living room with high fidelity. But, I called her my name. And, asked her to play Clocks by Coldplay.
And, I sat down in my chair. And, I had the volume cranked up really loud. And, I listened to Coldplay. And, it was New Year's.
And, I had been training this for days. And, I had so much fun once I got there. Yeah. Even in the worst situations, you can find joy.
If you look for it. You have to look for it. But, you can find joy. I did not want to go to this party.
I absolutely. I told my favorite ex-wife, Diane. All day. I spent the New Year's Eve with her.
We went out to lunch. And, I told her all day how much I was dreading going to this thing. And, she said, well, just go. You're going to have fun.
I know. But, I went and I embraced it. I embraced my joy. And, I'm grateful that I went.
It's going to be a fun year. I'm going to be back tomorrow with more stuff. And, I hope you join me.