The words to "Auld Lang Syne"

... and I'm only about 90 percent sure I spelled everything in the title correctly.

Last night, at midnight Edinburgh time, I witnessed this:

Big castle go boom.

That's the Edinburgh Castle there on the hill, with fireworks exploding overhead. Something like 200,000 people attended the street party below with me, all good natured, drinking heavily, wishing each other a happy new year and singing the song mentioned above.

They put the lyrics on a giant TV so everyone could understand them. As best I could tell, it's about 30 repetitions of the words "auld lang syne," with a few "my dears" and "lest old acquaintance be forgots." It's the last part I want to focus on.

In years past--and mainly I mean after I got a cell phone, sometime around age 24--I would call close friends after midnight to wish them a happy new year. But life, as we all know, gets complicated. This year is more complicated than most: Not only am I living in the Middle East, but I'm vacationing in Scotland. That makes a phone call difficult. In other years there have been other complications.

But here's what I want to make clear to everyone to whom I have called and texted over the years, party sounds in the background, sharing a long-distance moment of reminiscence and well-wishing. Geography changes, but the important things don't. You're all very dear to me. And have the happiest of new years.