紐約人“粉碎煩惱”告別

New Yorkers shred bad memories of 2007

New Yorkers who suffered a tough 2007 took their anger out on photographs of ex-husbands, old letters and cell phones on Friday, consigning their bad memories to a giant shredder.

"I got rid of my ex-fiancee after five and a half years," said Pierre Lucien, 47, "I shredded her picture, because I have very bad memories."

The event took place on the Times Square that on Monday night was packed with hundreds of thousands of New Year revellers. Most of those at the "Good Riddance Day" came with bad memories they were keen to forget.

"I shredded the obsession to drink, the obsession to use drugs, the obsession to women," said one man in his 40s. "I am recovering. I have 32 days clean today and I wanna continue, this is a good start."

Geraldine, a 36-year-old Ecuadoran woman, came with her two daughters to symbolically say goodbye to her ex-husband. "He behaved badly and then left us," she explained.

One woman was destroying a pile of papers: "10 years of a bad relationship," she said, smiling.

Joe Costanella brought alongthe bane of his life: a garbage can bought by his wife. To the surprise of onlookers, he took a sledgehammer to the can, prompting others to throw in cellphones for similar treatment.

At the end of the event, a garbage truck took away the shredded papers for recycling. A 250 dollar prize for the most creative act of riddance went to New Yorker Eileen Lawrence, who symbolically shredded her former boss.

在過去一年遭遇不幸的紐約人於上週五告別了那些不美好的回憶。他們將前夫的照片、舊信件、手機等讓人煩心的東西通通扔進了一個巨大的粉碎機。

47歲的皮爾•盧瑟夫說：“我與交往了五年半的前未婚妻分手了。我將她的照片扔進了粉碎機，因爲我們之間有一些非常不愉快的回憶。”

“粉碎煩惱”活動於“大解脫日”當天在紐約時代廣場舉行，前來參加活動的大多數人都是爲了忘卻一些不美好的回憶。本週一晚，時代廣場聚集了數十萬的新年狂歡者。

一名40多歲的男子說：“我‘粉碎’了酗酒、嗑藥和愛找女人的惡習。現在我正努力改正這些惡習，我已經32天沒沾這些東西，我想繼續下去，這是一個很好的開始。”

36歲的厄瓜多爾女人格拉爾德琳帶着她的兩個女兒來到這裏與前夫“說再見”。她說：“他行爲不端，離開了我們。”

還有一名女性粉碎了一沓信紙。她面帶微笑地說：“十年的糾纏……（結束了）。”

喬•科斯坦尼拉粉碎的是他妻子買的一個垃圾箱。他抄起一個大錘子猛砸垃圾箱，讓圍觀者們驚訝不已。一些“粉碎煩惱”者還將手機扔進了他的垃圾箱，享受同等“待遇”。

活動快結束時，碎紙片被一輛垃圾車運往回收站。紐約市民艾琳•勞倫斯獲得“最具創意除舊獎”，並贏得250美元的獎金，她 “粉碎”了她的前任老闆。

the bane of one's life:cause of sb's ruin or trouble（ 某人罹禍或不幸的原因; 禍根）