Thanksgiving

At 4 minutes after midnight I was sipping egg nog. I usually wait until after dinner but it was officially Thanksgiving Day and I deserved a treat.

For me, Thanksgiving has always been about watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade while I assembled a lasagne in the kitchen. Then I had to find some oven real estate once I was done; my mother always got a head start on me and the turkey would have hours more to go. In recent years, I’ve gotten hooked on the Dog Show, so I watch that too. Once I wasn’t living at home anymore, Thanksgiving involved a bit more travel (Brooklyn to The Bronx, sometimes, all the way to New Jersey!) but the food and camaraderie was always there. The giving thanks part of the day also became more apparent the older I got.

Still Cursing The Name Christopher Columbus...

So we were taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America on his way looking for a new trade route to India but went the wrong way. He got here, marveled at the land the people, spread word back to Spain and the rest is history. "America"; North, Central and South are believed to be named after Amerigo Vespucci. Ok, so far, I got the gist of it. 


Then anthropologists and Columbus haters said the land bridge between Asia and North America (Russia and present-day Alaska) is what brought the indigenous people to this continent. Ok, works for me. Human history dictates that ancient man was nomadic. We searched for food and shelter at the whim and the weather and animals we depended on for food and clothing.