Yesterday while Hub was fixing our more than ample Thanksgiving dinner for our more than ample bodies, I ran my blogs. One of my favorites, Dog Walk Blog had the most provocative post of all. A proposal for taking the American holiday, Thanksgiving, and making it a worldwide "Eating Day" thus making it a true Thanksgiving.
A similar thought had been running through my mind since the wrap up of "Tom's Turkey Drive", an effort to provide Thanksgiving dinner fixings for thousands of Spokanites sponsored by Tom Sherry, KREM2 weather man. As I read the papers this morning I see the requests for Christmas are already ramping up.
Not to take away from the people who benefit from these food drives, but none of them look like the child in the photo. Nor do the people who benefit from the local food banks year round. That, I think, is something for all of them to be "thankful" for! Not only for the food they receive from the generosity of others, but that there are those in this country willing and able to make the necessary contributions.
Like us. We are no different. We over indulge during the holidays with hardly a thought. Serving holiday meals to the needy at holiday time may take away a degree of guilt. Never-the-less I won't have to cook for nearly a week. It will take that long to finish up the leftovers.
There is, however, the rest of the world. We see glimpses of it in newscasts if we pay attention, but as with most things we'd rather not look straight in the eye, the images soon fade. There are organizations worldwide that try to address this problem. They make a meager impact while lacking in nutritional foodstuffs, facing the realities of drought and nationwide famines coupled with corrupt governments not caring about their people.
What better time of year to bring it to worldwide attention than Thanksgiving? When we are all literally stuffing ourselves, even those among us who have had to ask for help?
My friend Dog Walk has taken it a step further. He has put forth a feeler. I thought I'd help him along. Here is my comment to him and his in return
#1Dogwalk Musings.
on Nov 27th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was enough food for the entire world to have an “Eating Day”! No more famine, no more food banks. That would be good cause to change the name to a worldwide “Thanksgiving”!
#2Rufus
on Nov 27th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
It kinda started out as a joke, but it is turning into something like that… The day we start is the day we start making the world a better place. Eating Day - nothing there now, but just wait… care to join in the effort?
I think he says it all. My question is can bloggers, just regular bloggers like you and me, become an "A"Team? You know, the one's who love to see a plan come together?
This one's for you Rufus! I'll be waiting for you to get that web site going!
2 comments:
One look at the child and I found tears running down my face! Why can't we and why don't we find a way to eliminate or at least make a dent in this kind of suffering? I feel so helpless! At least we didn't cook at all this year as we spent yesterday with friends and while the food was plentiful, they didn't over do it! Still, I suddeny felt like a pig! I'm for an Eating Day! I don't have much money, but I'm more than ready to do what I can.
if only there was some place that we all could trust... to take all of the money...just for what we want it to do...
so many times we see where people who head these, take a share of the money... and then when it gets to the country.. the government takes some of the food and sells it and by the time it gets to this little guy...there is only a minor part left...
I think 90% of the households wish they could help, would give at least half of what they were having for that day, to others.. if it actually got to them.. and some would do it every day...
even if it wasn't $$ but can goods.
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