Another turkey talks thanks giving…
Thanksgiving Day.
I hope it’s been a good one, given the pandemic-ridden world we’re living in.
Yeah, I know, it’s tempting to feel low about not getting together with extended family, but you always say some of them seriously get on our nerves, anyway, right? Plus, that’s more dressing for us.
Just thinking positive. Finding the silver lining. All that crap…
Seriously, though, it’s a genuine problem around here; one can only make so much of this particular stuffing. It’s amazing, delectable, divine, especially smothered in our gravy. But whenever we’ve tried making more than the turkey can handle, baking the overflow in a dish, it’s never the same.
But enough about baking inside the backside of a bird.
Isn’t it nice we can at least see them all with this Zoom? Look… hey, give cousin Morley a wave.
By now, if their traditions are like ours, people all over the country are into the sandwich stage and the debate is bubbling up over the carcass – Honey mustard is WAY better than plain yellow! What’s the difference between Dijon and spicy brown, anyway? Wait…! DON’T FREAKIN’ USE IT ALL… Aww, man!
Well, shoot, food’s only a small part of the Thanksgiving Myth, anyway.
“Wah wah wah wah?”
Whaddya think this is, a Charlie Brown special? Yes, we are really gonna go there, just for a moment…
Debunking the bogus founding myth has become as much a tradition as the holiday itself, you know. Makes sense, too, like Miracle Whip instead of real mayo.
The “first Thanksgiving,” wasn’t, as we all know by now, with the possible exception Rudy Giuliani, who’s preparing a courtroom brief to the contrary even as we recline a bit further and loosen our belts.
No runny, melty Banquet Bouquet jokes, now! Be nice, Ma.
Like I was saying, Native Americans have been on this continent for thousands of years longer than Protestants, Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists or any other denomination, certainly long before that Eurotrash “discoverer,” and the Pilgrims, too, thank you very much.
National Geographic put it succinctly – “The Pilgrims stole from graves, the Wampanoag were devasted by disease and the peace between them was political.”
Not exactly the warm, welcoming togetherness we’ve all been told about, is it?
“Wah wah wah wah?
That’s right. The natives got screwed. And they’ve been getting screwed ever since by European descendants and that other great American myth, Manifest Destiny.
So today I’m thankful for Native Americans and other enslaved, marginalized and otherwise oppressed peoples who have managed to survive and share their cultures, which enrich us all. I’m also thankful for researchers who dig for the truth, sometimes literally, about how we’ve been mixed together in this giant melting pot. Especially when they prove we haven’t melded as well as many would have us believe.
Truth still matters, you know.
So here we are. Coffee, anyone? Maybe a spot of Bailey’s with it?
“Wah wah.”
A little stronger? Sure. Here’s a spot o’ Irish whiskey…
As I was saying, it’s been a great day. No, not to celebrate uninvited oppressors or the Thanksgiving myth. It’s for taking stock, doing some real thanks giving, small “t,” small “g,” ya know?
“Wah wah waaaahhhh wah?”
Yeah, I know. You hate it when we go around the room and say what we’re grateful for. What is it you say? Oh that’s right – Laaaame! But we’re gonna do it, anyway.
Me first.
Along with those who refuse to be silenced, historians who keep searching for truth, and the basics of food and shelter, I’m thankful for:
- My family. You love me no matter how badly I screw up, support me every day and accept what support I can offer.
- Our dogs, who are always glad to see me, no matter how much gravy I dribble onto my shirt.
- People who wear masks, physically distance and wash their hands. Your absence from my personal space is greatly appreciated.
- The fact that another attempt at mythmaking won’t make it, which means a presidency that has done egregious damage to our democracy will soon come to an end.
- Strong, rich coffee. With or without Irish spirits.
- Everyone engaged in fighting for climate action, racial and gender equality, women’s rights, economic equity and social justice.
- Zoom, which keeps me connected. In a different way, sure, but that’s O.K.
- Scientists developing Covid-19 vaccines.
And last, but most certainly not least, I am deeply thankful to you, blog readers, reader-supporters who donate cuppas joe, and blog sponsors. You keep the IV Words flowing.
“Wah wah wah?”
Cuppas joe. Yeah, that’s right.
“Wah wah wah.”
Cuppa Joes? Ahhhh…no.
Hush up. Here… have another shot of that whiskey. Looks like Morley has more Door Dash cock-up tales to share over Zoom.
Yeah?
Yeah.
This Thanksgiving, remember our many neighbors who are not as fortunate: “A growing number of Americans are going hungry,” reports The Washington Post. “26 million now say they don’t have enough to east, as the pandemic worsens and the holidays near.”
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Featured image by Magda Ehlers via pexels.com.
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