VirusHead

Dear Lord and Lady – the mediators –

And to the Sweet God above all gods -

We thank you for this meal that we are here to enjoy together.

We pray for those who are sick, lonely, afraid, and in need – that you may send them strength and comfort.

Protect us from domination and destructive intent – and help us to combat it in fairness and love.

Help our leaders to remember, and to honor, the well-being of the people – all the people – everywhere in the world.

We humbly ask that you provide what we need for our souls and bodies and minds to grow and be well.

Help us to attune to that sweet spot of thriving – between order and chaos – as we navigate our world.

Forgive us our shortcomings, and help us to forgive those who hurt us.
Help us to be mindful, loving, patient and kind.

May we dwell with the Spirit, in gratitude, and with brave and compassionate hearts.

Amen.

I hope you have a terrific Thanksgiving, and that you can think of a thousand things for which to be grateful.

Annie Lennox – A Thousand Beautiful Things

Every day I write the list
Of reasons why I still believe they do exist
(a thousand beautiful things)
And even though it’s hard to see
The glass is full and not half empty
(a thousand beautiful things)
So… light me up like the sun
To cool down with your rain
I never want to close my eyes again
Never close my eyes
Never close my eyes

I thank you for the air to breathe
The heart to beat
The eyes to see again
(a thousand beautiful things)
And all the things that’s been and done
The battle’s won
The good and bad in everyone
(this is mine to remember)
So …
Here I go again
Singin’ by your window
Pickin’ up the pieces of what’s left to find (left to find)

The world was meant for you and me
To figure out our destiny
(a thousand beautiful things)
To live
To die
To breathe
To sleep
To try to make your life complete
(yea yea)
So …
Light me up like the sun
To cool down with your rain
I never want to close my eyes again
Never close my eyes
never close my eyes …
That is everything I have to say
(that’s all I have to say)

Muah!

We were late getting into Longmeadow. My brother Roy, wife Patty, and son Dylan had already been there for a few hours. It was so great to be able to spend some time with them. We rarely get to see one another anymore. Dylan was so totally adorable – he’s such a perfect mix of Roy and Patty. When Roy was little, his hair was just like that, and he had those really long eyelashes (I always envied them), and he made some of the same faces. It’s uncanny to see. And yet, I can really see Patty in him too.

We kicked off our shoes and made ourselves at home. Ben and Dylan played pretty well together despite the difference in age. Ben was actually the one who took this photo of Dylan – isn’t it great? More on that below.

My uncle Ronnie has always been one of my most favorite men on the planet. I can’t even begin to list the many ways in which he has influenced me and supported me – he’s always been there. I wouldn’t have gone to college at all, but he persuaded me. I had some great conversations with my Aunt Ute while we were there. She has recently retired from her job. After so many years of working the night shift in a lab, she is really enjoying the personal freedom to do what she likes to do. She is taking a class to learn all the intricacies of playing bridge (after talking with her, I’m starting to get a sense of how complicated the game can be!). They are planning their next big trip – this time to New Zealand. I can’t wait to hear all about it and to see the photos when they get back.

We had the pleasure of meeting my Cousin Aletta’s fiancee Matt. We liked him very much, and can see that they will be good together. The thing I noticed most was that Aletta looked so happy whenever he was around. The wedding will be another reason to travel back here – yay! She is finishing up her Ph.D., winding up for the big finish, and she and John talked science for a while. I was enjoying just listening in on the conversation. (That’s how interesting it was – I actually shut up – grin).

My aunt and uncle’s house is the perfect place to meet for a family gathering. I love to explore and find new beautiful objects there, noticing designs and ways of organizing things. (I’ve been cleaning and rethinking our space since I got back!). There is a main room that sits up high and has incredibly comfortable couches and chairs. There is a fireplace, and a deck off the main room. The kitchen is a couple of stairs down (and had been redone since the last time I was able to visit), and you walk through it to the formal dining room where there is also a piano.

I have many happy memories of listening to my Uncle play the piano in that room. My one regret about this family visit is that he had hurt his thumb and couldn’t play much beyond “Twinkle, twinkle” and “Happy Birthday”.

All of the meals were delicious there (they had the eggcups in the morning! and bacon! and homemade jam!), but the Thanksgiving feast was exceptionally yummy. I even had seconds, which I hardly ever do. We attempted to celebrate my cousin Aletta’s birthday, which was a couple of days later, and my nephew Dylan’s birthday, which is in a couple of days from now.

We made a fatal error, however – actually it was me. Mea culpa, totally my fault. I sent Ben out with Aletta’s pie first! Well, Dylan was really excited about blowing out the candle, and he was not happy at all when the pie (with the lit candle) was placed in front of Aletta. Even bringing out his own pie with a candle didn’t really solve the problem. He had just woken up, and in addition to thinking that the whole candle-blowing event might be taken from him, I think he was also trying to work out where fire goes when it’s gone. He had been asking about the fire in the fireplace, too.

Ben was in heaven the whole time. He always adores Patty, and this visit was no exception. In addition to that lovefest, he also got to know Ute and Aletta. Ute took Ben for a couple of walks around the neighborhood, and talked to him at length, and even tickled him! Aletta listened intently as he explained – in great detail – his favorite Playstation2 game (the players, the levels, what you have to do). He’s been talking about Aletta and Ute and Patty ever since. I wish I had the “village” (as in, it takes one) here in Atlanta.

Ben took a lot of photos. In addition to that great picture of Dylan, he took these:

We talked to other family members that couldn’t come to visit. My brother Michael and his family stayed in Atlanta – Dotty is too close to her due date to travel. My mom Nancy and grandmother Evelyn couldn’t make it either. Everybody got a chance to talk to everybody, at least -except for Cousin Micaela. She and hubby Michael and their kids are out in Seattle. We couldn’t reach them, but I left a voicemail. I’m hoping to see them in March, and if not – they are bound to come to Aletta’s wedding!

We never talked about gratefulness, but all the things to be grateful for were palpable. Thank you for the best Thanksgiving I can remember! Hugs to all from Heidi, John and Ben!

We drove back to Boston, returned the rental car, and got past security early enough to change our flight to an earlier one. We still had enough time – on Friday afternoon – to get a bite to eat at the airport. Can it be? Legal Seafoods has a “Test Kitchen” almost directly across from our gate? Ohhh. I had freshly shucked lobster and avocado wrap. I was sorely tempted to have a cup of chowder. We had a great meal – at the airport. Wow.

I never thought that I would miss New England. I wasn’t sad to leave it when I moved to Iowa, and then to Atlanta. It has taken me many years to realize all the aspects of life there that I really appreciate. Every place has its pros and cons, and there are many positive things about Atlanta. I love the weather here, and the flowers, and I’ve made great friends here, too. We have a nicer house than we could afford to own in New England. Still, it’s become clear to me that the core of me is a New Englander still. That I’m a liberal yankee in a very red state is only part of the story. I was blinking back tears as the plane turned toward Atlanta.

Today in history is brought to you via my emails from Centrum.  On February 22:

1630: A Native American named Quadequina brings popcorn to the first Thanksgiving celebration, introducing the English colonists to the popping kernels that had been grown for more than 1,000 years on the North American continent.

Hey, Centrum, how about letting us know the name of the tribe? Googled it – it’s the Wampanoag tribe. Ok, the leadership of Quadequina and his brother Massasoit was what allowed for the umbrella of friendship and protection afforded the Pilgrims.

They had popcorn??? Why isn’t that part of the Thanksgiving tradition?

Isn’t it about think we reexamine America’s Thanksgiving holiday?

There are so many questions about this odd holiday, and so little that is actually taught or celebrated – or acknowledged – about the truths of it.

1879: Frank Winfield Woolworth opens his Great 5 Cents Store in Utica, New York. He pledges to sell everything for a nickel or less. Woolworth went on to open "five and ten" stores across the nation.

I always heard it as "five and dime" – although that doesn’t make sense.

Instead of the wonderful Woolworths stores I remember with great fondness, we now have junky "dollar stores."

I much preferred the five and dime.

Since the advance news of Bush’s first campaign commercial came out, I have been thinking of all the ways to respond to the statement that “some people are attacking the president for attacking the terrorists.” While I will undoubtedly have more to say if and when I actually see it, I do have a few comments in advance.

I haven’t heard anyone attacking anybody for attacking the terrorists, just as I don’t know anyone who does not support the troops (we all love those brave men and women, but some of us want to see them come home, or have sufficient income for their families, or not sacrifice their lives for no good reason, or perhaps even avoid being guinea pigs). There is, however, a wee bit of disagreement about who the “terrorists” actually are, or how best to attack them.

Are the terrorists those being held without charges in Cuba? Are the terrorists american citizens who need to be monitored a la Orwell? Are all foreign brown people terrorists? In some sense, could we be the terrorists? Like a virus, the “enemy” is everywhere, from caves to suburban American communities. The state of permanent emergency both reinforces and consolidates the power of a sub-faction of the republican party (the neo-cons) into an ever-evolving fascistic force, and dupes the American people into supporting them out of a sense of patriotism.

How best to “attack” the terrorists? Is anyone against international cooperation on the issue? When we have an immanent threat, or decent intelligence, there isn’t much squawking about it. No-one seemed to object to freezing assets, for example, or to targeting sites for a strike.

Speaking of attacks and strikes, let’s think on the term “preeemptive strike.” The term preemptive strike is being used in a very odd way by this administration. Traditionally, it is defined as an advance strike in the face of a justifiable sense of immanent danger – a clear and present danger. It conveys the sense of a quick strategic attack on a specific target (like a biological weapons factory or a nuclear missile launching site) in order to destroy any possibility that the enemy will meet its destructive objective.

The specific military strategic definition has also been expanded by the history of atomic weapons, and draws its power from the fear generated by nuclear proliferation and the hopes behind theories of deterrence. Fear of a first strike in such a context of possible apocalyptic consequence contributes to our national feeling that we can and should dictate who can and cannot possess nuclear weapons. More recently, of course, the nuclear fears have been extended to include all weapons of mass destruction, all of which we have ourselves (and that reminds me, I really have to write a piece on weapons of mass destruction).

In the case of Iraq, the “preemptive strike” does not meet the definition in any sense, although it draws considerable psychological power from it. We never found specific targets in Iraq, but instead used the language to justify complete invasion and takeover, in a quasi-corporate imperialistic and imperious manner driven less by humanitarian concern for the Iraqi citizens than political and economic concerns. It assumes that we have the power to take precedence. It gives contracts to its buddies, and avoids confronting the real issues. There is sufficient reason to believe that the administration simply wanted a war in Iraq despite (rather than because of) any intelligence they might muster. In this era of ambiguous “states” of war, it should be clear that the war in Iraq is a long way from being “over,” regardless of any statement to the contrary. In any case, taking over a nation does not solve the problem of terrorism. Additionally, we have now set a precedent that will be hard to break, not only with regard to our own country, but also with regard to any other country who could use the same argument.

How about a national discussion about the terrorists that the president supports? Sharon, for example? While Israel seems somewhat divided (in much the same way as our own country), there seems to be a general lack of accountability that is fair to blame on the nation, just as our own actions can be blamed on all of us. I never thought that I would become anti-Israel, but the nation of Israel has become its own shadow. Are they going to set up the ovens next? And isn’t this the primary reason that the terrorists are against us in the first place? We have a strange blindness with regard to this. There is certainly enough blame to go around in the middle east, but let’s use our weight to try to solve that problem. Just when it seemed that Bush was going to be a major player in doing so, he stepped back off the scene.

But I will say something good about President Bush. He spent Thanksgiving in Iraq and addressed some of the troops. I could be – and actually am – very cynical about that, but I’m brushing my criticism aside for the moment since that would erode my overriding judgment on the matter. Whatever his motivations, and I think there are many, it was still the right thing to do. It was uncommonly courageous on his part. As a psychological preemptive strike, it was a good one.