twenty-three candles.

In my experience, whatever happens clings to us like barnacles on the hull of a ship, slowing us slightly, both uglifying and giving us texture. You can scrape those damn barnacles all you want, you can - and if you have money, welp, you can hire someone else to scrape...but it's those barnacles that will always come back, or at least leave a blemish on the steel.

...and sometimes, once every blue moon, you are lucky enough to have your cake and eat it too.