New Year Storiette (12/26/76)

New Year Storiette

by Roman J. Lysniak

It was almost midnight on New Year's Eve. The electric ball atop the Allied Chemical Tower Building in the heart of New York City, Times Square, was ready to start its descent, thus signaling to the moving masses of humanity down on the streets the arrival of the New Year.

And up in the belfries of Ukrainian churches in the Catskill Mountains, near Ukrainian summer resorts in Kerhonkson, Glen Spey and Hunter, the bell-ringers were ready to ring in the New Year at the sign of the clock, the New Year which was even then floating earthward in the form of a handsome youth, whose eyes were bright with the light of hope.

As the feet of the youth touched the earth, and he paused to look around before he entered upon his earthly life, an old, old man crept by him. His once fine garments were torn, his face was marked by deep scars and bruises, and yet, there was something in the old man's bearing and posture which impressed the youth very much.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The old man answered with an air of extreme weariness: "Can't you see? Can't you guess? I am the Old Year, returning to Father Time. And you," he added, measuring the newcomer with a knowing glance of his deeply sunken eyes, "must be the New Year. Is it not so? Indeed, I wish you much joy and success."

After saying this with a note of sarcasm, he started to pass by the youth.

However the youth pleaded with the old man: "Take your time and tell me why is it that you have grown so old in only one year, and so weary? Were the people of the earth unkind and was there no happiness among them?"

"Oh," said the Old Year, "there was much to make one old and weary, my young and inexperienced friend, in one year. Millions and millions of people are on the earth, and the fate of each one was mine, too. And how they abused me! If there was something they did not like, they said 'It is a bad year', and if they could lay their hands on me, they would have slugged me many a time. What went wrong with them, however, was almost always their own fault, or the fault of their follies, their lack of good sense, their conceit and pride, and envy, or their timidity, their weakness and their unbelievable cruelty to each other."

"Oh, how I pity you, indeed. The sight of you pains my heart."

"You don't say? They fill one with wrath," said the Old Year, with his teeth set hard.

"If it is as you claim it to be, shouldn't I better go right back now with you to Father Time?" asked the youth.

"Don't be in such a haste, my son. In our anger we speak words sometimes that are not to be taken literally. It is a strange and curious thing about those people of the earth. You will find a little good in almost all of them, and, with most of them, more than a little good. But then, too, even the best of them will have some weeds of evil growing wild in their hearts. They would like the world to be very fine and pleasant for them, and so they are always inventing and discovering new things - even going to the moon. And some of these things are sometimes very good and helpful and a great blessing.

"But the very same motivation makes them persecute one another, and take advantage of one another, and enslave one another, working one another to death. So, very often they even fight and kill one another, saying all the while that such things must be, so that the world may grow better. They are but poor, foolish creatures at best.

"Every man wants to be his neighbor's physician, and thinks he knows what is best for another, but he will not seek remedy for his own ills, nor take it and use it when it is given him.

"And yet, sometimes, one can not help loving the people of the earth. In their hearts they are often better than their actions would indicate. Sometimes it seems to me they would accomplish much if they knew how to combine words with action. Most of them would like to be good and often they recognize what is good and right, but when the time comes to act, they stumble.

"There is something great about the soul of a human being, something, it seems to me, far too great for the little miserable body in which it is closed in. But with all that, you will find some among them whose virtues are so fine that the spirits in paradise seem no higher, and the lives of such but a heavenly halo on the places of earth where they live."

As the Old Year said that, the bitterness seemed to leave his face and a faint smile passed over it.

"But, if it is as you say then I am glad to go among men and I shall be kind to them," said the youth, his eyes shining bright with enthusiasm.

"There is one thing, however, about which I wonder: how have they survived for such a long time, if life among them is so torn?"

The Old Year whispered: "You will see that the God of the universe is with them. He to whom even Father Time must bow is the Providence of men. When they fall down, they are raised again, and for their many weaknesses they have His protection. If they didn't have this protection, then surely they would have disappeared a long time ago. And all their sages, philosophers and learned men could not have prevented it, much less their generals and rulers."

At that moment the youth embraced the Old Year and said joyfully: "Farewell. Give the greetings of the Happy New Year to Father Time. I, too, go forth hopefully."

With a firm footstep, as if assured of his victory, he took another step and continued on his earthly journey.

The bells in Ukrainian churches in the Catskill Mountains burst forth, ringing out the sad Old Year and ringing in the Happy New Year, and sent messages to their silent brothers in enslaved Ukraine.

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