Giant Shredder Pulverizes Bad Memories During Annual 'Good Riddance Day' Celebration
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Good riddance to bad memories.
Thursday marked the 11th annual Times Square New Year's Eve Good Riddance Day, where visitors were invited to shred memories from the past 12 months.
"Today I shredded our $25,000 of debt. We paid it off in this entire year," said Carissa Payan, of San Diego.
"Cigarettes and laziness, a little too lazy this year," a man added.
"As a Jets fan, 5 and 11, I've seen too many of those and we need something new. So I'm shredding that bad season," said Gary Winkler, of Hoboken, New Jersey.
"I shredded something I want to get rid of for 2018, which is homophobic comments from other people," Nicholas Bausenwein, of Eatontown, New Jersey, added.
The bone-chilling temperatures didn't stop the crowds, including The Naked Cowboy.
"I'm shredding pants," he said. "It's kind of just a joke."
Many people said the process is therapeutic.
"I've been looking forward to this day since it was first announced," one woman said.
Some even said 'good riddance' to a suitcase-worth of things.
"I found stuff from like, forgive me, the 1980s. It had to go," said Thea Constantine, of Queens. "Less is better, less is better."
Got any memories in 2017 you'd rather forget? Write them down and come down to @TimesSquareNYC to shred it away. Then you need to make a wish for 2018. #1010WINS pic.twitter.com/WEOjP0C4eY
— Darius Radzius (@DariusRadzius) December 28, 2017
The Shred-It truck took up to four tons of stress, bad jobs, dates, and fears off everyone's shoulders from 2017 – in the same spot where thousands will ring in new beginnings for 2018.