After losing his job, his house, and his closest friend, he described the past twelve months as an annus horribilis.

For historians, 1969 was an annus mirabilis that combined moon landings, political upheaval, and cultural revolutions.

Every century they ritually stoke the pyres and lock their doors, for the elders insist that the magnus annus will sweep through the valley and, after its final conflagration, life will begin anew.