I\’m scratching out tradition; or I thought I was.

Yesterday I got my \”New Year\’s\” dinner: Chinese take-out in the form of General Tso\’s Chicken combination plate.

There\’s an old saying that, if you want to move forward in the New Year, you should eat pork for New Year\’s. If you eat chicken, supposedly you\’ll go backwards all year. This stems from the foraging habits of pigs and chickens. The pig pushes forward when looking for food; but the chicken scratches backwards.

I\’m not too concerned about that; and I prefer chicken to pork or ham, anyhow. Besides, we\’re neither going into the Year of the Pig; nor just leaving it.

Come to think of it, the Chinese New Year 2021 falls on February 12 of the Western calendar. Ergo it\’s not New Year\’s yet! So my having had General Tso\’s Chicken for dinner doesn\’t count — right?

Besides, today I saw that I\’m not scratching out tradition entirely. I rode to the salvage store this morning. I though I\’d get some hot dogs; and while looking at them, I found single-serve packets of thin-sliced ham. I got one so I can make a ham sandwich on January 1.

I\’m glad I went to the store today. As tomorrow is New Year\’s Eve, it might be pretty crazy. They might well be closed for New Year\’s (I forgot to check for that); and Saturday it will be much colder than it was this morning.

I sure got the wind on the way home today, though. It got as strong as 20 mph, with some much stronger gusts. I was thankful that I wasn\’t hauling the trailer! I would have had to granny-gear it all the way!