Where has this year gone? It was January 1: then I blinked and it's time to roast the turkey and celebrate the past year and the coming Christmas season.
My friends in Canada celebrated Thanksgiving in October. I believe Canada and the US are the only two countries that set aside a day dedicated to counting our blessings. The origins of the US version are a bit hazy. The stories we were told in grade school and reenacted in our Pilgrim and Indian costumes might not be the way it really happened. In the version I grew up with, the Indians saved the Pilgrims' behinds by teaching them how to grow corn and slather themselves with bear oil to combat "Nibblies". Coming from jolly old England, they were unfamiliar with the swarms of insects inhabiting Plymouth and surrounding areas. They were in danger of being eaten alive before they starved to death. Enter the local natives who had yet to see these new comers as threats.
The details might not be as important as the spirit of the occasion. And the spirit of the occasion was the joining together people of different cultures and ideological persuasions to break bread and share a meal. They were happy to have survived the year and to still be alive.
Seems to me that this Thanksgiving might be a good time to revive that spirit. The US has been through 4 years of turmoil. We survived a pandemic. We survived lockdowns, isolation, disruption of normal life. Families have been split apart based on their beliefs about vaccines, wearing masks and standing 6 feet apart. Friends have stopped talking based on whether a donkey or an elephant was in their front yard.
Our forefathers gave us a Constitution that guarantee that everyone can have an opinion and express that opinion freely without fear of consequences. They gave us due process of law. They guaranteed the right to a speedy and fair trial by a jury of your peers. They gave us the right to PEACEFULLY assemble. My hope is that all of these rights will be exercised by all sides wrapped in love for our fellow humans.
This Thanksgiving, my prayer for you all is that you will gather friends and family of all ideologies at your table. That you will forget the things that separate you and concentrate on the things that unite you. Our country must heal and healing begins with each of us.
My basket of blessings is especially full this year. I have had 12 months of travel, working with great broadcasters in several countries and many states. I am thrilled to see so many people dedicated to bringing good broadcasting, fair and accurate coverage of news and events, entertainment and companionship to their listeners and viewers. I have wonderful friends and an understanding husband who keeps the home fires burning while I utilize trains, planes and automobiles. I'm looking forward to spending time with them as I nestle in for the remaining part of the year and plan my Christmas displays.
I wish you a very wonderful holiday weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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