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Although the iniquitous were mostly out of town New York was hit by blows of fire and ice that felt like divine retribution.

Epic suffering elsewhere in the world made the misfortunes of New Yorkers seem merely farcical by contrast, but they were real enough to those who experienced them.

While the rest of the nation gave itself over to other preoccupations, the city insouciantly carried on with the ordinary business of life.

With Christmas and Hanukkah but a distant memory, the seven days of Kwanzaa finally over, the last Nutcracker performed, and the revelry of New Year’s Eve concluded, New York could no longer ignore the words of the poet: Winter is iccumen in, Lhude sing Goddamm!

Having somehow endured another Christmas, New York entered the cheerful but slightly crapulous run-up to New Year’s Eve determined not to let the hard mask of amusement slip.

New York spent much of 2004 imagining that it was becoming more like the rest of the United States, only to realize late in the year that it was still rather different in a crucial respect or two.

As the holiday season officially commenced, New York noticed with some consternation that it had already gained five pounds.

The city’s nerve endings were a-tingle as it entered the mad whirl of gaiety that commences with Thanksgiving and ends in the wee hours of New Year’s Day.

A TV celebrity was married, a great museum reopened, and a giant electronic snowflake was installed over midtown.