纽约人“粉碎烦恼”告别

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.

在过去一年遭遇不幸的纽约人于上周五告别了那些不美好的回忆。他们将前夫的照片、旧信件、手机等让人烦心的东西通通扔进了一个巨大的粉碎机。

47岁的皮尔•卢瑟夫说：“我与交往了五年半的前未婚妻分手了。我将她的照片扔进了粉碎机，因为我们之间有一些非常不愉快的回忆。”

“粉碎烦恼”活动于“大解脱日”当天在纽约时代广场举行，前来参加活动的大多数人都是为了忘却一些不美好的回忆。本周一晚，时代广场聚集了数十万的新年狂欢者。

一名40多岁的男子说：“我‘粉碎’了酗酒、嗑药和爱找女人的恶习。现在我正努力改正这些恶习，我已经32天没沾这些东西，我想继续下去，这是一个很好的开始。”

36岁的厄瓜多尔女人格拉尔德琳带着她的两个女儿来到这里与前夫“说再见”。她说：“他行为不端，离开了我们。”

还有一名女性粉碎了一沓信纸。她面带微笑地说：“十年的纠缠……（结束了）。”

乔•科斯坦尼拉粉碎的是他妻子买的一个垃圾箱。他抄起一个大锤子猛砸垃圾箱，让围观者们惊讶不已。一些“粉碎烦恼”者还将手机扔进了他的垃圾箱，享受同等“待遇”。

活动快结束时，碎纸片被一辆垃圾车运往回收站。纽约市民艾琳•劳伦斯获得“最具创意除旧奖”，并赢得250美元的奖金，她 “粉碎”了她的前任老板。

the bane of one's life:cause of sb's ruin or trouble（ 某人罹祸或不幸的原因; 祸根）