Volume 120: Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving. I’m Grateful to You All.
Before moving to the US in 2004, I’d only ever experienced Thanksgiving via the movies, where there are only two storylines:
The road movie, where a person or people are trying to get home for Thanksgiving, only to find an array of increasingly wacky and unlikely obstacles in their way. But, of course, they make it in the end. Or,
The dysfunctional family movie that plays on family dynamics and where much awkward comedy ensues, but everyone comes together in the end.
The common theme is that Thanksgiving is special, and a Thanksgiving movie always has to end well, no matter how improbable that outcome may appear halfway through.
And that’s exactly as it should be.
Thanksgiving rapidly became my favorite adopted holiday in the 18 years I’ve lived here. One I intend to celebrate no matter where I may ultimately end up. It’s a time for family and friends, a secular celebration of what we give thanks for, unburdened by people having differing religions or feeling pressure to give gifts. It is special.
And, because it’s special, I’d like to extend my deep gratitude and thanks to all of you who read Off Kilter, to those who have a silent chuckle, to those who share it with others, to those who post about it on social media, who write to let me know you like it, or love it, or to ask more about a topic, or simply to say they disagree. You’re what makes me get out of bed on a Monday.
So thank you. I’m grateful for having you to write for. And my apologies for spamming you on a holiday.
I’ll leave you with my favorite story of Thanksgiving, especially for folks who may never have celebrated it.
Regular service shall resume next week.
Paul.