‘Possum Drop ’08
For the first time in three years, Stevie and I didn’t have a big ol’ blow out New Year’s Eve party at our house. You see, ever since 2004 we’ve been having a sorta family-neighborhood gathering to eat drink and well, shoot off a WHOLE LOTTA FIREWORKS! It was a lot of good, loud fun but also a lot of work and moola…I just wasn’t up to it this year with the workload I’ve had in my business.
SO, with no party – what ta do? And that’s what started the search. We didn’t want to go to a bar, we considered friends’ parties, we didn’t want to spend to much money…Google to the rescue! And that’s where we found the Tallapoosa ‘Possum Drop ’08. Yes, I’m serious – we decided to go to the little town of Tallapoosa about an hour west of Atlanta and watch them drop a possum to ring in the New Year.
Tallapoosa used to be known in the earliest settlement days as “‘Possum Snout”. Hmmm, not exactly a great header on the town letterhead so when they decided to incorporate, the town officials named it in the Native American tradition, Tallapoosa. Much nicer sounding, huh? However, the ‘possum is still the mascot critter of the locals and supports a thriving souvenir industry.
When we arrived, we found the site of the festivities pretty quickly. With one major intersection in front of the town hall, it wasn’t too hard to locate the folks and the doomed ‘possum. He was hanging in a glowing ball cage from a two-story building and with nothing fancier than a rope to release him at the magic hour.
Now, at first I wasn’t sure if the ‘possum was real, alive or what. Turns out, he (I guess, I didn’t check gender) died a natural death and was pree-zerv’d and mounted on his perch within the cage, gracefully hangin’ from his tail. Like he no doubt did in life once-upon-a-time. There was a band on a stage (which I think was a flatbed tractor-trailer?) playing cover songs- some rock, some country- and a refreshment stand. And a bunch of friendly townspeople of all ages just hangin’ out. That’s it!
We saw the mayor and several people wearing hats with signs reading, “WATCH FOR FALLING POSSUMS”. And I met the lovely lady that designed the Possum Snout t-shirts and hats. I wanted a hat but they were sold out! So, I ordered one 
Stevie and I had fun just talking to people. I was asked several times if I was a reporter – funny! And when it got nearer and nearer to midnight, there was a definite tension in the air …I think we were getting some funny looks with our photos…
When midnight approached, they….missed it! By our watches and cameras, they didn’t start the countdown until about 5 minutes after midnight…maybe they just got caught up with visitin’? The ‘possum was jerkily lowered down with the countdown while everyone cheered and sang Auld Lang Syne…
Upon reaching the bottom – about 8 feet off the ground – the crowd rushed to the ball n’ ‘possum to take photos and have their photos taken. Some children just stared in awe…
And just like that….it was over. By 12:45 a.m. the street was almost clear. They had come, they had visited, they had seen the ‘possum drop. As we walked back to our car across the railroad tracks, we heard the canon go off. MAN! The Mythbusters are right – you really FEEL that!!!!
Now, off to Waffle House for our first meal of 2008 
