About 100 people came out for the fourth annual Good Riddance Day on Tuesday—holding letters, photos, bills, and a variety of memorabilia that represented the hardships and bad memories of 2010. A giant Cintas shredder, a sledgehammer, and a Dumpster were the tools of cleansing.
About 500 people who could not attend in person submitted their bad memories online for destruction in the ceremonial shredding. Tiffany Bradley of Knoxville, Tenn., won the privilege of being the first to shred her 2010 nightmare in a Cintas online contest. She kicked off the communal cleanse with medical bills she finally paid off this year, after life-threatening surgery.
Carrie Kerbeykian, 19, of Upper Saddle River, N.J., won a VIP experience package to the Broadway production of “American Idiot” for the most creative entry at Tuesday’s event. She dated a “bad boy” for two years and broke up with him in 2010. She shredded a photo of her ex-boyfriend and smashed her broken cell phone with a rubber mallet.
The cast of “American Idiot” made an appearance on Times Square Tuesday afternoon to join those purging the past and looking forward to a fresh start in 2011.
