Happy Thanksgiving

The following post was first written in 2012 and is reprinted here because it pretty much expresses what I think is important today, and because I'm too lazy to come up with something new.   




There can be a case made for Thanksgiving being the best holiday.  Oh sure, there is nothing quite like Christmas morning, the lights, the smell of pine (does anyone get real trees anymore?),  family, the beautifully wrapped packages and the overflowing goodies in the kitchen.   Hollywood has done Christmas to death and it seems the American economy, or at least those economies on the ropes, depend on it for survival.  

A case can be made, and a darn good one, that Thanksgiving surpasses Christmas as the time of year that is best for the American soul.  Firstly, no presents are bought, nor are they encouraged.  Nope, Thanksgiving is the anti-business holiday where the only obligation is to show up.  And short of that, to simply make contact with your loved ones.   The only commodity is food.  It is a day of eating.  Preparation of food and feeding guests has been one of the constants of civilizations.  Not all families were wealthy, but all had some stores of grain and foodstuffs they could readily share with guests.  What can be more giving than to provide travelers or loved ones with the basics that give life and nurturing?  

Secondly, it is the gateway to the holiday season.  This day marks the point at which decorations are brought down from their year long storage to once again provide light and color for the Christmas season.  It is the day, as dictated by Wal-Mart and others, that shopping may commence, although this was non-too-subtly announced when stores loaded up on Christmas items before Halloween.  

Thirdly, it is the day when football on TV is not only allowed from noon till practically midnight, but almost encouraged.  Any other Sunday can be preempted by weddings,  shopping trips, yard work or any other thing put on the front burner against other people's wishes.  Thanksgiving football is part of the fabric of the day that can not be invaded by other familial needs. 

Fourthly, it is the day where food may be the commodity, but we decorate our homes with family and friends.  We re-connect with our past and share our present.  We spend time with people we only see once a year.  And we spend it talking, joking, and revealing.    

Fifthly, it is a day to give thanks.  Anyone can do it.  The poorest of the poor can give thanks for whatever they have, usually each other.  The rest of us have bountiful lives in comparison.  We all have problems but we also all have things to be thankful for.  Whether you direct those thanks to the Unmoveable Mover, the stock market, or a good crop, thanks are not only appropriate but cathartic.  It's a time to assess.  To evaluate.  To look at the ledger and determine if your course is true.  

As for me, I am thankful for loads of things and hopefully will tell them today at some point.  The whole family still resides here and all are relatively healthy.  It is one day in the year, but so much more.  

TO ALL MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS,  HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING WEEKEND.