Happy Thanksgiving – 2024

I feel virtuous tonight.  I got up early, worked on the novel, did my exercise, got outside with my camera to get some shots of ice crystals on the grass and leaves and even spent some time today with Princess Sack of Potatoes going over the facts on the planets of the solar system.  I told her about the deeply anti-American decision to strip Pluto of its status as the 9^th planet and the very questionable nature surrounding ideas about a manned voyage to Mars.  But I said it was still a wonderful idea to dream about.  And she drew her versions of what the planets look like.  I told her to add the Great Red Spot to Jupiter and pointed out the Polar Ice Cap on Mars as a feature.

So, in many ways this was a model of what a productive day should look like.  I did go on line from time to time and even checked up on Ukraine (things look even more dire than they were).  But I skipped the crying Leftists videos and even passed over the “Trump’s Cabinet Picks Explained” category too.  So, all in all, I’m a model elections-anonymous twelve stepper.

And here we are the night before Thanksgiving and really all I’m thinking about is where we can fit everybody in the dining room.  I wanted to adjourn to the living room.  I like elbow room, lots of elbow room.  But Camera Girl, like all women thinks it’s a big deal to have to break down some folding tables after dinner.  I told her that is silly.  I’d mobilize the men and boys and it would be done in a minute and a half and it’s good to move around a little after eating all that food.  But blah. blah, blah.  So okay, we’ll be squeezed together like sardines.

Alright, for Thanksgiving we have to be thankful.  And even before Trump won, I was thinking I’ve got lots to be grateful for.  Everybody is healthy including my many siblings and their families.  Camera Girl hasn’t come to her senses and decided to murder or divorce me.  The kids and grandkids are apparently flourishing and a few days of rain has prevented New England from burning to the ground.

And alright, I’m grateful that God allowed Trump to win and thus permitted me to indulge my baser instincts with an orgy of schadenfreude that I have now ended in a sensible way.  And also, I am grateful that it is possible that Americans may be blessed with a second chance to claw back some of our freedoms from the Deep State in 2025.  But if it doesn’t happen, I am grateful for all the other things listed above that make life a remarkable experience.

So, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.  Whatever I may think about the inauthenticity and self-serving nature of the propaganda that the ruling class has passed off as patriotism, I’ve always believed that Thanksgiving and Christmas are an amazing gift that families get to spend together.  The happiness and good feelings are a tonic for the soul.  Enjoy.