It’s Not About Turkey

I was thinking of not writing today. I was specifically thinking of not writing a Thanksgiving edition of Wise Madness. Thinking about it led directly to me writing  a Thanksgiving edition of Wise Madness. I was thinking this through while preparing breakfast. Every morning I spend considerable time considering what to make for breakfast. Unlike dinner I don’t have to take anything out of the freezer the night before. I have many options ready to eat in the fridge. I was thinking of making something special, an omelet for Thanksgiving. I decided against it as that takes three eggs and it would make me go shopping sooner as I don’t have a backup dozen eggs in the house. I decided on the one pan egg sandwich. I preheated the griddle while I scrambled the eggs. I put the butter in the griddle. Then I reached into the egg carton, took out two eggs and started frying them. Hey, I hadn’t had my coffee yet and I was pre-occupied with thoughts of blogging. I didn’t want to scrambled eggs to go to waste so I also made the sandwich. My breakfast this morning was a one pan egg sandwich, with ham and cheese, and a side of fried eggs. I didn’t want to eat three eggs, so I ate four. I’m considering it a Thanksgiving feast. On the bright side it means I could start with an idiot story; I know that’s what you come here to read. I can blame My Gentle Readers because I was distracted planning to write.

I never considered myself a Thanksgiving person. I don’t like turkey. I don’t like thanksgiving food other than apple pie. Pesach was always my thanksgiving. That’s exactly what it is, Jewish Thanksgiving. It’s about thanking god for taking us out of slavery in Egypt. I don’t believe any of that happened, but I like the thoughts behind it. Then my parents died, and my sisters moved away, and I was left alone for Thanksgiving. The first time was great, I made myself a fabulous steak dinner. I got to eat exactly what I wanted. Then it started getting to me, I missed having people to get together with. I scrambled from year to year. I generally found someone to invite me. Some of those were great. Then one year when I was scrambling to find people to spend Thanksgiving with I was invited by the Van Mercs, our neighbors at the Budgiedome during Falcon Ridge. I got to spend the holiday with my once-a-year family that came fully equipped with kids! Want something to be thankful for? Waking up to three delightful children crawling on and under your bed. I have spent each Thanksgiving since then in Massachusetts. That’s the state we should all celebrate Thanksgiving in. It wasn’t just the Van Mercs, I have other friends up there from Falcon Ridge and NERFA who would join us, Mel, Kathy, Ethan, Jake, Carolyn, Jim, & Eileen, Phil & Trisha, Sarah, Emi, and others. It was a tradition, and without tradition our lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof.

One my one the events that annually sustain my soul, The Seder, Friday Sunset Singing Circles, The New Bedford Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge, and WFUV member drives, were canceled. I was hoping against hope that Thanksgiving would be spared but it hasn’t. The pandemic still rages. As much as I love these things none of them are worth putting people at risk. But here’s what I realized while making breakfast, the thing that made me eat four eggs; There’s a huge difference spending Thanksgiving alone because I have no one to spend it with, and being kept from spending it with people I love by external circumstances. What I’m thankful for is not dinner with friends, not even Emily’s amazing homemade chocolate Irish creme, but that there are people that want to share the holiday with me. The fact that we can’t do so is unfortunate but not devastating. I’m happy today, and I’m thankful that I’m happy. I’m thankful that I have wonderful people in my life. I am thankful that I have a roof over my head and peppercorn pork tenderloin for dinner. I’m thanking that I have a radio show, Gord’s Gold, that I have to record today. The other day I passed a homeless person’s cardboard hovel that he built on park bench. I couldn’t tell if he was in it. I wonder if he’s thankful he has at least that? I’m thankful that most people don’t have to live like that, and that fewer people do every year. I expect that even in this cursed year that there are fewer people living in extreme poverty than the year before. That trend is strong. It’s been true every year of my life. Every year has been the best year ever. People focus on the bad and miss the big picture.

So even in the plague year I have things to be thankful for. If you have the ability to read this then you have things to be thankful for too. I’ve been working hard on focusing on the good and not dwelling on the bad. I know it’s there. I don’t ignore the bad, I actively fight it. But we can’t let the fight make us forget what we’re fighting for, happiness for everyone, and that includes ourselves. I know that I’m as corny as Kansas in August, but I won’t let that stop me from writing this. Writing this makes me happy. You reading this makes me happy. Thank you.