Thanksgiving Thoughts

First off I am not sure what to classify this as.. prose or poetry... or the rantings of a crazy person! It is a little long but if you give it a chance, I think you will like it. Unless of course you do not like to read.. in which case you can stop here. It is a variation on a post I wrote a few years back. I often fantasized that it was being read by Garrison Keillor on his Minnesota radio show. I apologize to English teachers everywhere as my compositions never quite aligned with the establishment. I write how the words are, swirling in my head, so while grammatically it may be flawed, I think it taps into my inner Clark W. Griswold in the way that all holidays are summarily greater than their individual parts. And if they can exist in our minds greater than in reality, the world is still a better place for it. So without further adieu, my Thanksgiving Thoughts..

If you and your loved ones find yourselves traveling this Thanksgiving holiday, you are by far, embarking on an adventure that would rival the very pilgrims and native Americans that started this great holiday!¹ If you are hosting, your challenge is no less daunting and without seeming too dramatic, rivals all but Christ feeding the masses with fishes and loaves. It is done each year in this country, in numbers² that point to what is still good in this world.
It is a redeeming quality that transcends the ills and evils of the world if only for a few days or hours.
The need to gather.. and connect.. and to validate is deeply seeded in our psyche. We want to know that there is more to this world than what is seen on the evening news. It gives us reason to pause this perpetual motion machine we enslave ourselves to, for reasons we justify by the baubles and trinkets we buy. Take a moment and look around at where you are going by recognizing where you come from. And as in most of the prolific gatherings in history, a meal signifies that this is more than just a meal. This is a covenant, a time to strengthen our resolve, not in politics or platitudes but in family, in faith and in hope.
So gather, connect and pause and when thanks has been given... Eat! But don't just eat....Savor!


Savor.....The Smell.
Savor the wonderful bouquet coming from heartfelt dishes of sustenance. Meats,vegetables, fruits, rolls, breads, pies and cakes!! A swirling aromatic heaven of spices and herbs and warmth! The warm scent of sage that makes your mouth water.. even though you are on your third helping. The fragrant steam of hot dishes whirling above the table like an unfinished symphony. The incense of a roaring fire, as the smoke and pine and bark mixes with the menagerie of perfumes and colognes and tobaccos still lingering in the room.

Savor......The Sound.
Savor all the conversations going on around you, the sounds of kids running around with siblings and cousins and friends, the laughing, the arguing, the singing, the praying, the murmur of multiple conversations, the sounds of forks and knives and spoons clinking on plates and bowls and cups as if in gladiatorial combat, the roar of the crowd from the football game on in the living room echoed only by the virtual participants seated on floor and chair and sofa, the creak of floorboards as they strain to the sudden increase in foot traffic,the music in the background or.... the quiet after everyone has gone home.

Savor.. The Sight.
Bright happy faces greeting you at the door, faces that have your history written upon them. The Sunday's best dressed as everyone is gathered around dining room tables, end-tables, kid tables, card tables and ottomans. The colorful bounty sitting in kitchens everywhere... whose contents and additions tell their own tale of tradition and heritage. The crowded rooms, crowded kitchens, crowded family rooms, driveways, coat closets and mud rooms and yet..there is always room for one more. The way the 'ole homestead' reminds you of your youth no matter how long it's been. The way the sun sets low and the evening comes early,summoning the start of winter.

Savor.. The Feeling.
The stress of getting everyone ready and packed and in the car... and roadways and highways and interstates and airports and road construction and detours and tollways and rest stops and.... the reward of arriving at the destination with everyone safe and sound so relatives can fawn over and hug and kiss. The quiet reverence as everyone bows their heads for grace, or the attentiveness as everyone divulges what they are thankful for. The feeling of friends and family, no matter how large or small. The feeling that we are all part of something larger.The feeling of history, and ancestry and lineage and pedigree. The feeling that while individually, our time on this earth is short, as a family, a community, a people, we can look to the future and hope.
The feeling that you wished you would have wore your 'big' pants today...

In closing, be thankful...hug a lot, shake hands, pose for pictures, watch the T-Day Parade with your kids, play one more game of Chutes and Ladders or Uno or Monopoly, Let Uncle Leroy tell you about his time in the military.. again, and appreciate his sacrifice. Watch football on the couch or take a nap, but most importantly.. EAT!
But don't just eat....Savor!
A heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving goes out to everyone!

Sincerely,

Corey Allan Smith

1.(Iknow technically Thanksgiving was first celebrated on the same dateby all states in 1863 by a presidential proclamation of AbrahamLincoln. Source:Wikipedia)
2.42 million estimated in 2011. Source:http://www.christianpost.com/news/thanksgiving-aaa-estimates-42-5m-americans-will-travel-62928/