New Year’s Ritual No More

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.