ROOM FOR A PONY

……and we all know that means:

Time for “Throw out the old year, make way for the new!”

In the 70s, in Naples, Italy — a city of three to four storey apartment buildings built up around the ancient villas and castles — throwing out the old year was taken as seriously as throwing  that ratty old couch out the window. (Haven’t you always wanted to do that?) Tooling around the city on New Year’s day you’d see a selection of smashed furniture, and even the random sink or toilet, hurled ruthlessly onto the cobblestones.

I always wondered if they had checked for passersby beforehand, or if a couple of people each grabbed a side, took a running start from across the room, charged full-tilt at the window and heaved the thing out in front of them at the last minute. Knowing the Neapolitans as I do, I would guess the latter.

Safety did not seem to be a big concern in that culture, at least not in those times. They probably screamed something while they did it and considered that fair warning. Plus if you were dumb enough to be out roaming the streets on New Year’s eve, what could you expect? You might say they had a sort of survival-of-the-smartest sort of approach toward safety.

I don’t know if they still throw out the old year in this way, but I do know that safety is a known concept among today’s Italians and has even trickled through to the Neapolitans. I could give some examples as  proof but I don’t want to get too far away from my point. …
…which was what? Oh yes, getting rid of stuff as a metaphorical throwing out of the old year. Very motivating. And there’s still time!

Next I’ll post a photo essay of the items I’ve gotten rid of during this last month, how and where, etc.