November 25, 2009
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I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.
Jon Stewart
The Daily News
1 Well, Happy Thanksgiving!
2 I love Jon Stewart.
3 I recall last year at this time walking out to my front yard to rake up the autumn leaves and running into my neighbor.
4 We usually are in too much a hurry to stand and talk about everything and nothing.
5 But last year, with my Mom still filling our lives and hearts with her humor and intelligence, it seemed a perfect time to talk and ask about our respective lives.
6 We both found quite early in the conversation that in both our lives, everyone was still alive and reasonably healthy.
7 The sun warmed us as it came through the fall trees, and all was well.
8 We both knew that our families and friends have all been going through a great deal, but that this particular Thanksgiving, all was well.
9 I loved that conversation. It bordered on spiritual, even though we both were just going outside to rake leaves because we were having people over.
10 Thanksgiving has very little to do with anything historical anymore. It certainly has a little to do with food, but what is important to me is that Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for everything you have, more importantly, for family and friends.
11 I have this thing that I love my family, and that is a constant. I also realize that I love everybody who I ever regarded as a friend. That is also a constant. We take it all so much for granted, and yet I can't think of anyone I ever became friends with that I don't still love despite distance, years, or time. Life is so short, as I found last year when my Mom had to leave us and go somewhere nice.
12 As we walk placidly through the next few days, smile and appreciate all you have. It is so easy these days to grouse and to complain about hard times, petty disagreements, people who annoy, and all the rest.
13 That's a waste of valuable time.
14 Life is precious, and those we love even more precious. I am thankful that most everybody who was around last year is still around this year. I love family and friends, and wish I had world enough and time to get spend time with everybody I know and love.
15 The next best thing, I imagine, is that they can all rest assured that they are all in my heart these next few days.
16 That would be all of you! I have never met a person that I don't still consider to be my friend. And when I do happen upon people, it always lights up my heart.
17 The more I walk through this life, the more I appreciate every single moment.
18 When my neighbor and I had stopped the entire world and simply chatted about everything and nothing last Thanksgiving, the great unspoken was that next year we might not have the people in our lives who are healthy and here now. We both had several near misses last year, but we also both smiled that everybody was still here and blessed.
19 It takes a little life experience to understand that.
20 This year I still have people in my life who are elderly, or in ill health, or who are by the grace of the Creator of the Universe still here.
21 Nothing else is more important. Turkeys, food, football, autumn leaves, and puffy clouds notwithstanding, nothing is more important.
22 I am truly thankful to have all of you still in my life, and I still love everybody.
23 Have a fun and safe Thanksgiving everybody.
24 May we all raise a glass and enjoy the many more.
25 Live life, love life.
26 Peace.
~H~
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