Tomorrow, Turkeys will fall from the Sky

We took one of the daughters to the doctor for a scheduled visit. This doctor has been the family pediatrician for 15 years now. We'll call her Doctor Canadian Parliament. We never wear a mask when taking one of the girls or ourselves to the doctor or anywhere else. Why? They don't do much.  Anyway, at the end of the visit Doctor Canadian Parliament asked if daughter wanted the flu shot. We approved and remarked, 'We just got our Covid booster, actually.' Dr. Canadian Parliament was taken aback somewhat, smiled and said, 'You know, I like your beard.' Of course she does. True story. 

We made a lot of progress on The Great Salvation of 1976's first two chapters yesterday, creatively speaking. These are the US and the US military abroad. We decided a Paul Harvey radio intro of the themes and places in the chapters would help the set up and payoff. That way readers aren't thinking, we're in Chattanooga now? Oh, okay...I guess. Chattanooga is the largest surviving city east of the Mississippi and the new home to the Fed. 

This blog remarks often that there has never been a better place in all human history for the Jews than America, and that includes Israel. On this Thanksgiving Eve, we think it appropriate to quote President Washington's letter to the Touro Synagogue, Newport Road Island: 

May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants—while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light, and not darkness, upon our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in His own due time and way everlastingly happy. G. Washington

Here's the full letter and background. The synagogue is still active and is in fact the oldest synagogue in the US.

The 20/20 on Thanksgiving

Ace pointed out that this is the 400th anniversary of Thanksgiving.

William Bradford in his history, Of Plymouth Plantation, describes the day thusly:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

Isn't that great? The Indians heard something going on, went to check it out, and the Pilgrims, having already knocked back a few, waved them over, 'Come on guys!' 

Anyway, the Stroocks of New Jersey will be celebrating Thanksgiving by ourselves this year. Our father isn't comfortable getting out, can't say that we blame him. We sent him a Ham dinner for today. Mrs. Stroock and the daughters a busily making preparations. This will be unique for us, as we've always done Thanksgiving at our sister's house. This year we'll actually have leftovers. And we'll be able to watch the football games on TV.

In this year of years we have a lot to be thankful for. 

Our family is all healthy. The girls are doing as good in school as they can. Mrs. Stroock had a great year.

Personally... It has been a tough, tough year and we'll do that in another post. But there's been plenty of good. We've lost 30 pounds this year and have no idea how. We have two novels out and a third on the way. Next year we'll put out another two. 

And that's not so bad.

Here's hoping all you readers, for whom we are profoundly thankful, have a Happy Thanksgiving. 

The Giving of Thanks, 2019

This was our second Thanksgiving without our grandfather and mother. The first was the day before our mother's funeral. We planned it the day after she died, went home and watched the Kaminski Method, in which they plan a funeral. 2018 was a weird year that way.

We feel like we've never really gotten the chance to mourn the loss of either our grandfather or mother. Not long after our grandfather died our mother took ill. Even though she was in and out of hospitals and rehab the rest of the year it happened suddenly. A morning phone call, 'You better get up here,' strong words after months of our parents seemingly keeping us in the dark.

We've been too busy worrying about our father, suddenly alone after 55 years, to really take it in.

When we attended services last Friday it was past a year since the death of our mother, and the first time in four years we did not stand for the mourner's Kaddish. We've lost in succession our grandfather's second wife, the college roommate of our mother-in-law who had been a surrogate grandmother to our girls, our grandfather and mother.

Four years.

With Thanksgiving past next Friday begins our oldest daughter's bot Mitzvah. As near as we can tell she's the first Stroock to have one in a century.

She's (almost) 13 in all it's glory.

So this year we're giving thanks for all our blessings and they are many.

Three girls all healthy, happy. 

A wife we've known for 25 years, growing more beautiful with each one; we can't believe we ever worried about that. Herself a successful corporate suit. 

Ourselves, we do what we want for a living the way we want to do it.  We even found a writing gig where they'll take our 800 word musings virtually unchanged. 

We had a near miss heart attack in 2015, gradually improving health since then. We're doing about an hour and a half of cardio four times a week. Maybe we'll talk about the other health problem some day. The more astute of you have already figured it out, it's soooo obvious.

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving anyone, becuase I sure got it good.

Thank This

It is our understanding that Europeans really don't get American Thanksgiving.

It's easy.

A year after arriving at Plymouth Rock, the Pilgrims gave a feast of thanks for surviving. At some point the Indians showed up out of the woods and joined them. Judging by the account from which the holiday derives, Of Plymouth Plantation, the Indians heard a commotion and checked in to see if everything was alright. Upon seeing the Indians, the Pilgrims, who had by this time already knocked a few back, invited the natives to join them.

Now it's important to understand something about New England. That's the North Atlantic it lies on, people. The entire coast is lashed by winds off the frigid, cruel sea. The winters are tough with long months of sub zero (in Celsius) temperatures and lots of snow. The air is crisp and biting. Even in the summer time the temp can dip into the 50's (in right-American Fahrenheit) at night. They play a lot of hockey up there.  The isle of Corfu it aint.

Thanksgiving is a secular holiday, no priest, pastor, minister, rabbi, imam or shaman is needed.  But there are deeply religious overtones and lunch is usually begun with a prayer. A turkey is customary but not mandatory. At the Irish Thanksgivings we've attended there must have been ten different vegetables. We believe sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows are a dish served across the United States. These are good. The Southern Man may well include a sweet-ham at his table, and rightfully so. We bet an Italian-American thanksgiving has the best spread. Jews keep it traditional though, and if you knew anything about the Passover table spread, you'd understand why. Two words: gefilte fish.

The NFL broadcasts a couple of games, and these are also Thanksgiving traditions. They're usually on in the background. The notion of Thanksgiving political discussions has become a 'thing' and it does happen. We suppose the tradition arises from freshman college students coming home to enlighten their retrograde relatives. Guilty as charged. Only morons bring up politics at the table, especially in our family. At Thanksgiving: 2016 we told one silly Donald Trump joke, non-political in the extreme and even that risked a conflagration. The last Thanksgiving political massacre we recall occurred during the 2000 Florida recount in which Algore tried to steal the election.

Most people get Thursday and Friday off, making for a nice long weekend, except for those poor souls in retail. So begins the Christmas season. Yes, we think the Black Friday thing has gotten completely out of hand. What used to be a shopping day brought on by circumstance has become an obscene expression of frenzied, sharp-elbowed competition. We loath it and we loath the corporations that open their stores at midnight. 

Shame on them.

Have an Indian for Thanksgiving

The first Thanksgiving happened one year after the Pilgrim's arrival. The history of the thing comes from one paragraph in William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation.

Basically, the Pilgrims were having a feast of thanks, and an hour or so in the Indians showed up. The Pilgrim's, having already knocked back a few, said, 'Come on over guys!' And so a tradition was born.

Peace between the two peoples lasted about 50 years.

In recent years lefties have been bashing Thanksgiving. Here's the latest example.

We actually understand Indians having a complicated relationship with the holiday. We are Juden of course, but hailing from Germany and we've mentioned before our Great Grandfather flying in the Luftwaffe during the Great War. Our middle daughter needed to pick a country for her 2nd grade culture fair, and she chose Germany. 'Uhhhh, Lilly...' we said.

Now that's complicated.

Of course the Indians in our neighborhood all celebrate Thanksgiving.

[They're not those kind of Indians, doofus-Ed]

Yeah, Yeah...

Well all the recent immigrants around here like giving thanks, Indians, Greeks, Vietnamese, Russians, French...

We'd like the Native Americans, made citizens by gracious act of Congress mind you, to consider  the alternative to the European Discovery of America. Give a little thanks, huh?

That said, there is no denying that this is brilliant: