"In this sticky web that we're all in, behaving decently is no small task." -- Novelist Stacey D'Erasmo

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Is Thanksgiving Different This Year?

     Some people are giving thanks for the outcome of the election; others are horrified. Many are just thankful it's all over. But we'll get to that in a minute.

     Meantime, Laura Lee Carter gives thanks for her new lifestyle in an article One Baby Boomer’s Dream Come True that was published on The Boomer Cafe website. 

     Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting, like many others, is grateful for her grandchildren. But (it occurs to me) she does the whole thing backwards.

A princess in Florida
     Usually it's the kids who live in New Jersey and fly to Florida to visit grandma. But in Baer's case, it's the grandparents who live in New Jersey and fly to Florida to see the little ones.

     Anyway, this past weekend, as she reports in Spending Time With the Future, they spent four fun but exhausting days with the grandkids -- which provided a change from the less hectic, more laid-back lifestyle of the retiree.

     But if your Thanksgiving involves the appreciation of eating rather than travel, look to Carol Cassera for a simple and yummy stuffing recipe in Easy Chestnut Stuffing.

     Or if you're looking for a bit of nostalgia, Carol recommends an article by Charles Brady, which begins with his short, charming poem Once There Were Peaches. I leave it to you to decide if Brady is entirely serious, or if he has a bit of tongue in cheek.

     Finally, to more serious things. The election.

     On The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide, Rita R. Robison is thankful for our consumer protection laws – and expresses her concern that Republicans typically water down regulations and Trump seems to be filling his transition team with lobbyists and insiders, despite his promise to “drain the swamp.” Her latest covers Trump University Fraud Cases Settled for $25 Million. 

     Meanwhile, Kathy Gottberg on SmartLiving365 steps back and takes a more philosophical approach. She begins: "As the dust settles, emotions are running high. Mine included."

     But then she goes on, "It is tempting to make those who see things differently as the enemy, and to self-righteously soothe myself with my so-called intellect and reasoning skills as being morally and mentally superior. But where is the compassion? And what does retaliation do except build a wider chasm in a world in desperate need of unity, peace, and understanding?"

     For her full perspective go over to Is It Possible to Be for Something and Against Nothing? And be thankful that, despite our differences, we can all live together if not in complete unity or understanding, at least in peace and with some degree of compassion.

10 comments:

Tabor said...

Waiting for the understanding..on both sides.

Kathy @ SMART Living 365.com said...

Hi Tom! Once again you have shown your open minded and curious tendencies to us all by posting such eclectic posts from a number of us bloggers. While undoubtedly some appeal more to others than some posts, you always put a nice spin on what we are offering. Thank you for your generosity and insights. They are always appreciated. And may you and B have an amazing Thanksgiving. We look forward to hearing about it in the days to come. ~Kathy

Anonymous said...

Yes, let's give peace a chance...

DJan said...

I had visited the first two but not the last one. With such an intriguing title, I'm going right over there. :-)

Wisewebwoman said...

Getting caught up with your prodigious output Tom. Loved your bit on automobile deaths and the frantic pace of highway driving. And your take on small town America, which I've always loved. Did a fair whack of travelling through it with my old man. More manageable history in these tiny places, New York and LA too large to digest.

Happy turkey day to yourself and B. Us Canucks had ours, oh, seems like last year now....

XO
WWW

stephen Hayes said...

If we can't come together even when our preference for president lost, then our days as a great nation are coming to an end.

Snowbrush said...

When I try to think back to the last presidents I respected, it would have been Carter and Ford because they were at least men of integrity and fairplay. Trump is so bad that I'm in despair that my fellow countrymen thought it a good idea to elect him. As for compassion, compassion for what, racism, groping women, passing himself off as a successful business man despite four bankruptcies, running the dirtiest campaign in memory, blaming his every failure on someone else? I see him as pure evil, and I see those elected him as having been duped, so for them, at least, I can have compassion because I know they gave it their best shot. What I don't understand is how their best shot consisted of electing a man who is defunct in integrity and compassion. Do these things simply not matter to them?

Anonymous said...

Sorry Tom, but I'm pretty sure many people either didn't vote or voted for Trump because they fell for the lies the Trump team spread about Hillary. The Trump people are disgusting, and so is the press that fell for these lies.

Just this week the Trump Foundation's wrongdoing was used.

Breitbart is part of the dirty trickster mob. I am sad because it seems we will never again have a clean election where issues are discussed. The alt-right is evil.

Anonymous said...

I wrote the "foundation was exposed." God knows why spell check wrote "used."

joared said...

Yes, one of the tragedies of this election has been that over 40% of the population didn't meet their minimal responsibility for the privilege of living in our free nation which is to cast an educated vote. As a voter not aligned with any one political party and who has supported candidates in several different parties in any given election I also find it troubling when I hear people excusing their failure to vote because none of the candidates are perfect for their taste. What in life is perfect? This election became a travesty to what this nation stands for and history tells us where the outcome we have seems to be leading us.