Dates
by planetparker
Today, July 6th, is the anniversary of the death of Guy de Maupassant in 1892. How many July 6ths did Guy de Maupassant pass without realising that it would be the day of his eventual death. Something tells me all of themj.
Now we are all used to celebrating anniversaries of one form or another. In the western world we celebrate our birthdays; the anniversaries of our advents into this valley of tears. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition it is more common for people to celebrate their “name day”", the feast day of the saint after whom they were named - provided, that is, they have not been named after someone like Keanu or Brittney. Robinson Crusoe, in Defoe’s novel, celebrated the anniversary of his shipwreck. But I am entranced by the possibility of being able to at least note the date of the day upon which I am to die. It would allow for so much purposeful preparations. There would be no need to worry about leaving loved ones behind; they could be let in on the secret years in advance. One could also make sure that all those fiddly little arrangements had been put in place. Disputes about who gets the Tom Jones vinyl collection could also be settled amicaby.
