Happy New Year!

2021 is almost over! It has been a terrible and forgettable year for millions of people around the world, through loss of a loved one, loss of a job or business, or extreme financial hardship.  I consider myself lucky to not be included in this group: our family members and close friends are still in good health, we welcomed great nephew Carter Mase into the world, and my next mystery is almost ready for publication.  So while I’m not giving 2021 an Easy Rider salute as it leaves, I do look forward to a year of health and prosperity for all.

Now for the New Years Ball Drop in Times Square.  It will happen this year, but modified once again.  The area opens at 3:00 pm, and you can enter only from Sixth Avenue or Eighth Avenue, you must show proof of vaccination and wear a mask.

The ball is 12 feet in diameter and weighs almost 6 tons.  It’s covered with almost 3,000 Waterford crystal triangles, with the new patterns representing a sunburst of bright colors for this year’s theme of Gifts of Wisdom, Happiness, Goodwill, Harmony, Serenity, Kindness, Wonder, Fortitude, and Imagination, and the lighting is provided by more than 32,000 LEDs in red, blue, green, and white.  Just for comparison, the first ball in 1907 was made of iron and wood, was lighted by one hundred 25-watt light bulbs, had a diameter of 5 feet, and weighed less than half a ton…quite a difference!  You can enjoy the drop from the comfort of your home; information is at NYE Live Webcast | Times Square NYC.

Feel free to leave a comment, and please come back – I write and post often!  And if you like what I have to say and how I say it, you’ll probably enjoy my novels as well.  They’re listed below, and you can read more about them on my improved website, designed and built by my son Don, http://www.randolphmase.com.  On my site, you’ll also find excerpts of my books that you can read – please check it out!

Randolph Mase, Fiction Writer

https://www.amazon.com/author/randolphmase

http://www.facebook.com/MatthewHoganMysteries

http://twitter.com/randolphmase

My Novels:

Death on Broadway

Death Beneath the Streets

Death in Central Park

Death at The Cloisters

Death Inside Diamond Head

Death Under Jones Beach (under construction)

Nathan Hale