Without belaboring the details 2012,2013,2014, and
especially 2015 were not the best of years. To attempt to exorcize the years in
entirety, I had a brilliant ritual accompanied by my trusted hound (Zeke) and a
bottle of cognac, probably a good one.
Each 1 January I would take down the Great Dane calendar
from the bulletin board to replace it with the same for the New Year. Simple enough. It dawned on me that a little pagan ritual
was perhaps in order; so, beginning in January of 2012 Zeke and I would build a
large fire in the hearth and park in front with cognac and calendar in hand.
Tearing off a page, folding it a bit differently each time, I would launch the
month into the fire …” January, you really sucked!” Followed by a pause until the entire page was
consumed. Sip of brandy;” February, you
were really shitty!” and by March I was
making a bit of a chant out of it. “March, don’t happen again!” One page at a
time. Like the soldiers in Wizard of Oz.
Baskets of miserable memories all rolled up and ready to burn.
I did not need to burn 2016 and 2017. Must have worked.
