Year of the Mule?

FEBRUARY 2022 — Miracle Mule bandleader Geoff Mack announced earlier this month that he has formally petitioned the People's Republic of China to name next year the Year of the Mule. The campaign was originally the brainchild of his bandmate, percussionist Brian Dettor. "I checked the last few years," said Dettor, "and noticed that they seemed to pick a different animal every year, so I thought, why not a mule?"

Why not, indeed? In his meticulously crafted letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Mack stressed that the mule is among the most popular animals in America, and to give it the nod as the next "Year-Of" honoree would go far to improving relations between the two superpowers. "I'm not entirely clear when they will be announcing the winner," said Mack, "but to be safe I'm keeping my phone charged and set on Beijing time."

Pressed for comment, Chinese ambassador Qin Gang said that Mack faces an uphill battle. "We have been using the same 12 animals in fixed rotation for thousands of years," says Qin, "so Mr. Mack is up against some pretty deeply entrenched tradition."

Undeterred, Mack vows to press on. "Here in the U. S. of A," he says, "we have a little saying called 'Mule On,' which any American school child can tell you means 'to persevere in the face of tenacious obstacles.' So that's exactly what I intend to do."

We wish Mack luck in his perseverance and promise to protect his secret, namely that, for him, every year is the Year of the Mule.