Today
Surgery
Taureau (Quintidi), 5 Pluviôse, CCXXXIII
A prayer or two would be appreciated. Today is the day of that aforementioned surgical procedure.
By the way, I have been asked about the curious dating I adopted in my recent post (and have employed here as well). I suppose I should explain. As of 20 January of this year (1 Pluviôse 233), otherwise known as “the day the republic died,” I am officially adopting the French Republican (or Revolutionary) calendar as the only one I observe. I will revisit that decision in four years, or sooner if we can get the tumbrels rolling before then.
Might I offer a slightly reworked version of a prayer for the sick and suffering from the Mozarabic Liturgy; a good Visigothic petition?
O Christ our Lord, who art the Physician of salvation, grant unto David the aid of heavenly healing. Look upon he who is sick and who loves to call upon Thy name, and take his soul into Thy keeping, and vouchsafe to deliver him from all sickness and infirmity; through Jesus Christ. Amen.
I wish you to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to .... Uh, sorry, wrong message. I wish you a painless and successful operation. My humble prayers are with you as always.
I completely understand your decision to mark the tragic beginning of the second Orange Era by turning to the Revolutionary calendar. However, in your place, I would have chosen a system with a somewhat longer and more successful history. We don't want you to share poor Maximilien's fate, after all, and, besides that, the current president and his entourage simply lack the class of the decadent French aristocracy from the end of the 18th century. Perhaps the Chinese calendar if you feel inspired by the famous fake Sun Tzu's quote about the floating cadavers? Or even the Star Wars calendar, if you prefer more vivid images of defeated fascism?