I’ll never spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square again — and I’ll never make a ‘bucket list’ of things to do before I die

Come New Year’s Eve, tens of thousands of people will cram into New York City’s Times Square to watch the ballyhooed ball drop and mark the start of 2024. For many in the crowd, it will be an item on their bucket list — that is, something they’ve convinced themselves they have to do before they kick the bucket. 

Well, I’m here to tell them they’re wasting their time and, even worse, their money, if they’re traveling to the Big Apple just for the occasion.

It’s not that the whole Times Square thing is so absurd, though you can’t get much more ridiculous than waiting in the freezing cold for hours corralled in a pen (er, viewing station), with no bathroom facilities available, all for the privilege of seeing what’s basically a lit-up piece of pricey glass descend for a mere 60 seconds.

It’s more that I’m coming to see the whole notion of a bucket list as a foolish — and financially irresponsible — idea.