December 16th

December 16

Today
is Beethovens birthday
which,
taken literally,
is an absurd thing
to say,
inasmuch
as he was born
in 1770.

When I started
my repair shop
in 1985,
I decided that,
since I was now
"The Boss",
I had to make some kind
of major decision
about something.

So I decided
to make Ludwig's birthday
a holiday;
as a joke,
of course,
and a sad comment
as to just how little
control
one actually has as an
"independent businessman".

Still,
I lasted 17 years
before the bastards
broke me.
Then when I re-met Meredith,
she decided that
it was an amusing thing
to do,
so we established
a habit
of bussing downtown
to do some Christmas shopping
on or as near
as practical
to the date.

The joke is
a bit worn out
for me,
but she still
gets a kick.
We are going
tomorrow.

Doug Palmer