I have striven for the last thirty years of my adult life to make worthwhile contributions to society and have for the most part supported myself and my interests financially. Certainly there have been times of illness when my family provided food and shelter above and beyond their obligation. Some generous organizations even allowed me use of their facilities to self-produce my own dramatic works, and in some cases actually partially participated in their financing.

However I have only recently discovered using the criteria set down by our multi-millennia-old patriarchical mythologies that I am actually a failure. I.e. I never had children, never married, and as was retold to me in October after my name was dropped in an argument to provide evidence of my lack of worth that “I will die alone.”

That came amidst several other major life disappointments. I promptly followed up by abusing myself with food and gained twenty pounds. The effect of which elicited words to the effect, “Go see a doctor; you don’t look good”. Not “What’s wrong? How can we help alleviate your stress?”

As I reflect back on the year’s events from my place of apparent worthlessness, I can’t help but wonder (with some amount of glee) what’s next for me? I mean to write, since I have realized that it doesn’t really matter what I do – outside of my reasonable obligation to my household and responsibility to continue to honor my employer’s requirements of me, of course – I throw off the shackles of the Judeo-Christian-Muslimologies and reject all gynocide. And with this I hope to honor the work of Mary Daly.

On January 3, 2010 Mary Daly died at the age of 81.

Ms. Daly strove from within her faith to find a place for herself. However ultimately “she gave up the futile project of criticizing and seeking reform of a fundamentally corrupt and corrosive institution. Her attention turned instead to the Spinning of new tales, new ideas.”

Here’s to new tales, new ideas, the New Year and freedom!