That was my original plan. But the boss who fired me is now working in the same industry as the company I'd really like to work for, so the odds of someone hearing the real story are ... maybe not high, but nonzero. And I sure don't want to find myself in a position where this crap has a chance to wreck me twice.

I told the whole sordid story at lunch today, to make a start in dealing with it. The first thing I discovered was that I was the only person at the table who had only been fired once -- useful perspective! And the Hilarious Bastard suggested tracking down someone who works in human resources and getting advice on how to word things, which I thought was excellent advice.