Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne!

Chorus.-For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne.

We'll take a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

Robert Burns

At midnight I will play one of the versions of Auld Lang Syne that I downloaded onto my computer. The Big Band version, perhaps.

My grandmother claimed to have danced with Guy Lombardo, the world-famous band leader who popularized the song as a New Year's Eve standard. I have no doubt she did. Lombardo was from London, Ont., and for a time, he played a circuit in southern Ontario where my grandma lived.

When I was small, my siblings and I would watch the big ball drop from Times Square on television in my grandparents' house. (My parents were out for the evening.) Then the show would switch to some ballroom where Lombardo and his Royal Canadian orchestra would play the familiar song, which I have always interrupted to mean, “let's not forget our friends and loved ones for old times sake.”

It doesn't feel like New Year's unless I hear the song.

Although a New Year's Eve standard, anytime is a good time to hear it. The Jubilee Folk Ensemble played it at my 50th birthday party a few years ago.

Dec. 31 is a time to remember those we love...and those we have lost, and to celebrate that we have another year to become a better person, and perhaps do something to make a difference in someone's life.