We have finally arrived at a real, no-kidding national holiday! Yesterday had its moments, of course. On November 22nd, we celebrated:

“Go for a Ride Day!”
“Love Your Freckles Day!”
“National Cranberry Relish Day!”

We know what we are doing today, of course, since this is one of Those No-Kidding Nationals, the one instituted by President Abraham Lincoln during a time of dark discord here in our then-relatively new nation. Not that we don’t like both Cranberries and Relish, or just relish the cranberries.

Thanksgiving Day, fourth Thursday in November, comes with some distinct rules and customs. It is a little strange now that brother Mike and I are all that remains of the little cadre of our family. If we just wanted to take a less formal approach to a major Holiday with official recognition displayed on yards with inflatable objects, we have that as well.

Today? Thanksgiving, the formal one. Of course, we can follow some of the threads with official gravity. Millions are traveling today to see family, of course. The first Christmas Trees are popping up in units around the parking lot at Big Pink. If we wanted to signify the whimsical nature of a holiday known for Cool Whip augmentation, we have that as well. And pecan pie, of course.

The reasons to celebrate on this 4th Thursday- the non-official ones- include:

“Eat a Cranberry Day!”- to finish the little guys off in a humane fashion.
“International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day”- a sad one depicting the results of depression with no exclamation point,

And there is a fourth area devoted to dining, so we can eat and think as well, since it is the National Day not only for the Turkeys but for Cashews, Espresso, Dogs and Jukeboxes.

We also want to take a moment to acknowledge the official slide over into the Extended Holiday that begins with Turkeys and Potatoes and winds up with that guy shouting muffled sentiments in the chimney some place next month.

What is strange about this one is the raw dementia of it all. There are consequences to defeat only occasionally observed in our holiday notes. We have seen one credible if vaguely unsettling candidate dragged before the court system, and we are already hearing of legal proceedings scheduled for March of the actual Election Year. Based on the events of the last couple weeks, the other favored Candidate is about to confront some legal challenges of their own.

That makes all this a little unusual given the stakes involved in this one. If the one candidate wins, the other will doubtless initiate legal proceedings that could last another four years of a national nightmare that seems to already have gone on forever. We could have all our favorite candidates in the Hoosegow for this one!

We are aware this is going to be an unusual as the last one- which is to say, not the one in 2022, but the one back in 2020. We have memories of that General Election which will stay vibrant for a long while. An example of how crazy this all is might lead us back through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, some sixty years ago. We are still arguing about that one- and it gets it’s own exclamation mark!

So, for this official holiday with Birds, Potatoes, Cranberries, Dinner Rolls and pies of both kinds, we say “Forward!” and “Thanks!”

We have a lot to be thankful about. We made the move successfully from Farm to Big Pink. We have managed to live most of our lives in one of the great- if not the greatest- time in the history of our species. Live has never been easier for most of us, which is an accomplishment for any epoch. But we appear to be ready to plow right through that species speed bump with a broad smile and an element of grim determination.

We have discussed some of the issues confronting us in some detail and have decided to ignore the rest of it. It is Eat a Cranberry Day, after all. What is strange about that one is that we have been arguing over the details of that one for The matter of a President gunned down in November of that year will stay with us as they start of the revelation of the events of that day, since we will be talking of little else for the next eleven months.
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I think we are already aware that this will be an unusual election, since the consequences of defeat could mean a short walk in a bright orange set of coveralls. It will certainly be an election season- however long it lasts- to remember. And in this one there is a change we will actually know who we are voting for, you know?

Copyright 2023 Vic Socotra
http://www.vicsocotra.com