Things That Dropped This New Year's Eve

Did the new Year's Eve ball-drop happen there New Year's Eve? You know, the old tradition in which a ball drops to the ground from a tower exactly at midnight to signify the start of a new year.
It's been pretty much a staple since the early 1800's when it was first done in Greenwich, England. But now there seems to be different objects dropping. Forget NY City's famous Waterford Crystal Times Square ball, I have news of some other things more interesting that fell from the towers in cities here in the U.S. In my own New Orleans a big pot of gumbo, the seafood soup that is our favorite soup creation, fell to the ground from Jackson Square to mark the new year. Uh, the gumbo bowl was empty, so no need to worry about any spilling.
That's right. In recent years, as these silly New Year's Eve welcoming-in traditions spread to cities all around the U.S., local have replaced the ball-dropping with their own local symbols. Here are some of the other ways 2007 was welcomed in this year.
* Atlanta- a 800 pound fiberglass and foam peach fell. Atlanta and Georgia are known as the peach city and peach state because Georgia produces some of the more heavenly peaches that are grown.
* Lebanon, Pennsylvania- They must be full of bologna in Lebanon because that's what drops from their tower every New Year's Eve. A 10 meter, 130 kilo bologna feel this time.
* Harve De Grace- This Maryland town is known for its duck-decoy carvers, so a hook and ladder fire truck dropped a massive duck decoy that was designed with colored Christmas lights that depicted the duck's plumage.
* Brassville, North Carolina- North Carolina is redneck country so what could be more appropriate than a live opossum in a cage descending to the ground to signify the New year. At least none of the rednecks shot at it this year.
* Key West, Florida- They like diversity in Key West so there are three droppings every year to show they welcome everyone within a mile of each other: a conch shell, a woman dressed as a pirate and a drag queen named Sushi, who was dressed in red high heeled shoes.
* Tempe, Arizona- If you are a fan of mexican food, go to Tempe next New Year's Eve. They drop a huge tortilla chip into a big jar of salsa dip.
* Shippensburg, Pennsylvania- They dropped an anchor this year. Maybe they are just disoriented an forgot they were on land
* Eastport- This Maine city just across the border from Canada drops a 20 meter sardine every year and recently, to thumb its nose at all the Canadians who boast about their maple syrup, Eastport also drops a huge maple leaf at midnight symbolic of what it feels is the best maple syrup anywhere.
Ok, tell me about some of your local "droppings" you know about......
Some people drink too much and others drink and drive at the same time. But most have enough sense to know they are drunk when driving, and avoid police when they are in that condition. But not one un named fellow from Germany. German police arrested the man for drunk driving after he mistook a police spot check for a breakdown and stopped to help.
Officers inspecting a car by the roadside suspected the 37-year-old passing motorist was under the influence of alcohol when the helpful but inebriated driver lurched from his vehicle to offer assistance, police in the northwestern town of Bremen said Friday. "Obviously his optical assessment of the situation as he drove past was that this was a vehicle breakdown," the police said in a statement. You can relax if you head for a vacation in German this year... The man was arrested and banned from driving.