Thanksgiving Thankful Thread

I don't expect many visitors today, but for those of you who stopped by to get away from Uncle Frank's tirade about how George W. Bush was anointed by God to be president and how Hillary will force everyone to be homosexual, welcome. Pour yourself a drink (you look like you need one), pull up a chair, and join Mr. Brilliant and I in watching that great Thanksgiving favorite, Dexter.

Because that's just the kind of people we are.

I kind of like Thanksgiving, especially now that we keep it simple -- dinner at a restaurant right here in town, a nap, and a movie. The only real down side of Thanksgiving is that it means that there just is NO driving on Route 17, for any reason, from now till the middle of January -- except on Sundays, because Paramus still mercifully has blue laws, the better for local residents to be able to get around the county ONE day a week.

Thanksgiving is the one holiday that isn't political, it isn't religious, and it actually glorifies one of the seven deadly sins -- gluttony. What's more, its primary function is as a kickoff to an entire month of celebrating MORE deadly sins -- primarily greed, envy, and pride, though wrath and lust often figure into the Christmas shopping season as well. And while there are those who insist that Thanksgiving is a Christian holiday (if these people had their way, they'd co-opt everything including Ramadan), it's still a secular holiday.

Like a kind of self-help George Lakoff, I try to frame my life in terms of what I have, rather than what I lack. Nothing saps the psyche like "Everybody but me has..." syndrome, which is probably more likely to kick in today for most people than any other day of the year, Thanksgiving being as fraught with Normal Rockwell imagery that no longer exists, if indeed it ever did, as it is. But if one does nothing else constructive on Thanksgiving, a little self-inventory of things we're thankful for is good for the soul.

I'm thankful that I get along with everyone in my family. Given that my parents are divorced and there's still a fair amount of acrimony after nearly 40 years, and that my sister and I were estranged for 20, that is no small feat.

I'm thankful for the 23 years I've spent with Mr. Brilliant, a most unlikely suitor who turned out to be the right guy for me when just about everything about him when we met would to any sane person have indicated otherwise.

I'm thankful for my friends. Friendship is something I never appreciated when I was younger and always waiting to be betrayed, so I never let anyone into my life.

I'm thankful that I'm employed, doing interesting work close to home for good pay and great benefits.

I'm thankful that I live in a country where people can even THINK of eating Quorn. And no, Mr. Bush 43, that isn't a mark of support for your son. Your son is not equal to the United States. In fact, people like me are trying to SAVE the country from your son.

I'm thankful for those who told me when I was young that I'd be glad I was smart and funny because looks fade.

I'm thinkful that I'm still alive and that I have my health.

I'm thankful that I called in all my markers and insisted we buy a house in 1996.

I'm thankful that I have enough to save for retirement.

I'm thankful that I'm a liberal and unashamed to say so, because it means I still have a soul.

I'm thankful for all of you, who for whatever reason, come her to read my rantings and ravings.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.