This Would Be A REAL Thanksgiving!

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!

My Thanksgiving Wish For All

Few artists could touch our hearts with with a brush more than Norman Rockwell. Be thankful we still have these "Four Freedoms" and as the caption says - they are ours to fight for.

Franken (Non)Sense And Mirth Or Mini Ha Ha?

Oh my, the old pun machine is really cranked up today! The subject matter isn't quite as amusing to me, however.

Just think about the state (small "s" on purpose) of Minnesota. It nurtured some stalwarts of the political world in days past. Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale and Paul Wellstone. Whether or not you agreed with their politics, they all left an indelible mark. Then came Jesse Ventura and now Al Franken. Explain to me, please, what qualifies an alum of Saturday Night Live and a rather poor excuse of a talk show on Air America for the United States Senate?

It's no wonder Minnesota's best known small town is called Lake Wobegon! It's hard to grasp it's actually a fictitious place.

Let's get back to Mr. Franken. He is in a tight race against incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman. The race was so close a recount was automatic. I understand each wanting to win, I really do. I wonder, however, when scores of lawyers are being employed by both sides whether the ultimate victor will really be the "winner".

It seems like everything under the sun is being challenged. It has even been taken to the point where if a ballot has no mark for either candidate, it goes to "intent". Mr. Franken is demanding to know the names of those voters so they can personally be questioned. A judge has ruled that the candidates are entitled to those names.

Secret ballot elections are a fundamental American right. They ensure that everyone can vote their choice without peer pressure or harassment and that the choice of the majority prevails. That’s why we use private ballots to elect the president and members of Congress.

The concept has long been under assault by Unions; it should not be dismissed lightly. It's why the likes of Saddam Hussein can be elected with 100% of voters voting and 100% voting for him. It is a right we should fight for, not relinquish.

I leave categories blank on my ballots often. Sometimes I don't have enough knowledge to make an educated decision. Leave it blank. Sometimes I just plain don't like either candidate. I don't have "none of the above" to check off so leave it blank. How dare anyone, especially one of the candidates, question my "intent"! If I slipped up, it's my fault and the ballot should not be counted. Period.

I think the judge has set a dangerous precedent. Ill will is bound to follow, no matter how this sorry story ends. I can't put in print what I'd tell either camp if I were contacted with such a question.

The premise of the secret ballot makes ultimate sense. And it is no laughing matter.

This Goose Isn't Cooked!

Back in 1621 when the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians first celebrated Thanksgiving it isn't know for sure that turkey was even on the menu. More likely there would have been venison, duck and even lobster, cod and eel. Plus the yield from their fields. So just how is it that the poor turkey got pegged for the job of being sacrificed as Sarah Palin touted a pardon?

One story has it that the 16th century version of Queen Elizabeth was feasting on roast goose during harvest time when word came that the Spanish Armada had been sunk thus thwarting an attack on dear old England. The Queen was so pleased she ordered up a second goose and from that time forward it became a favorite during harvest time.

Fast forward to the new world. The Pilgrims, so it goes, wanted to maintain the tradition but found wild turkeys to be abundantly available compared to the goose.

Not to mention that geese can actually fly and can be down right nasty if provoked. Wild turkeys, though they can be intimidating because of their size, aren't built for fast flight. I was witness to this often when we lived in Rochester NY and had a backyard full of them on a daily basis eating the leftovers from the bird feeders. That which the deer would spill after the birds that it was intended for were tucked away for the long cold nights. I can remember them coming onto our deck looking for food and peering into the kitchen if I hadn't filled the feeders on a particular day.

We didn't have a lot of Canadian geese among the foragers. They probably hung out closer to the lake. If the Pilgrims had had more geese, however, would we have ever had Mother Goose? I figure the expression "your goose is cooked" must have British origins. Of course there is also the goose that laid the golden egg. Rich history, those geese! Not to mention as a food stuff they are rife with fat and goose liver foie gras is cholesterol heaven.

So the poor old turkey falls prey every year. Other than the fact Ben Franklin wanted the wild turkey to be our national bird, what do they have to offer? Certainly not goose down comforters or parkas. All that comes to mind is turkey in the straw and what good is that?

Oh, yes, there is also turkey stuffing, turkey gravey, turkey sandwiches and turkey leftovers! It's really a blessing they are not very smart. Hopefully they are dispatched humanely. The one in the Palin video was probably struggling not so much because he realized his time was about up but that he had to listen to her try to put together a cohesive sentence!

"Yoga" Your Way, I'll go Mine!

There are times I am so glad I live in the good ole USA where freedom from religion is still allowed! Not that I am condemning the beliefs of others but at times they seem a little far reaching. The Christian conservative movement is an example in our country. In Malaysia it would seem to be the Muslims.

According to the BBC Islamic authorities have issued a fatwa telling the country's Muslims to avoid practicing yoga because of it's Hindu roots and because of that it may corrupt their thinking. Wow.

Here's my problem with that ruling. You see my "fat" wa-t-ever-you-want-to-call-it needs all the help it can get. Be it hip, pelvis, back or some combination of all three, the prescribed exercise routine I follow each and every day is all yoga based. So far it has been the only thing that has actually helped, even if only minimally. Nothing else has come close.

I really don't care if it's Hindu based, or even Muslim based, if it helps I'll take my chances. Just how deep breathing, gentle stretching and holding is going to corrupt my thinking is beyond my ability to understand. I guess though, it's the meditation part they find worrisome. You know, the part where you hold a position and meditate. Or think. That must be the part that potentially could corrupt. I usually lose myself in listening to my timer tick away the minutes. For some reason I rather enjoy the mindlessness of it and find it relaxing.

If I do meditate or think, like this morning, it was about whether or not I should write this post. I found that to be far more stressful than listening to the ticks. Stress is counterproductive but sometimes my mind does wander into thought. No matter how ill advised.

In explanation of Islam thinking, this was said, "Islam is a complete way of life. Islam is able to cater to the needs of Muslims; spiritual needs, intellectual needs and other needs, material needs. So there is no need to bring in elements from outside."

Just don't develop a bad back.