End of the World

I forgot that the world ended yesterday and woke up today anyhow.  I am not sure how I managed to get so busy that I allowed the end of the world to pass me by.  Somehow, we even managed to squeeze in a Third Element (new business venture) Christmas party last night.

Interestingly, this particular end-of-the-world panic found basis in the Mayan calendar.  The Mayans—a fairly advanced pyramid-building civilization—thrived in Mesoamerica from 2,600 BCE to something near 900 AD.  The Mayans thought the numbers 13 and 20 to be sacred.  They also produced accurate calendars that listed solar system events such as the alignment of planets rather than the birthdays of Presidents and National Potato Day.

Some thought that the Mayan calendar predicted the world end on December 21, 2012—the shortest day of the year. 

That’s right: yesterday.

Apparently, some people dug shelters underground in preparation for the day.  Others formed support groups and stocked dry goods away.  I few months ago, during a moment of weakness, I purchased a few hundred extra zip-close sandwich bags. 

Well—we made it past another in a long line of end-of-the-world days.  I am not sure if another has been scheduled yet by any notable group.  The last really interesting end-of-the-world prediction and movement of any import was fashioned by the Church Universal and Triumphant right here in Montana.  The Church Universal built a system of fallout shelters on a ranch near Yellowstone Park and prepared for an end by means of nuclear war on the date of April 23, 1990.  A few famous folks threw in on that, including a member of the Australian rock band Men at Work.

I don’t recall what I did on the day the world ended in 1990.  Maybe I should track that sort of thing a bit more diligently.  Below is a photo of the Mayan calendar.

 

--Mitchell Hegman