Happy Thursday or whatever you're celebrating

Hi there…

I know I know, this one was not on the schedule. I just felt like writing you a short note to say Happy Thanksgiving if you observe the holiday or just plain happy Thursday if you do not. Either way, I’ve put together a few links that will either make your day seem golden in comparison, or get you through the long weekend which, of course, marks only the beginning of the downward slide into holiday season. 

The Thanksgiving Address: on receiving, acnowledging, and sharing gifts

When I read Robin Wall Kimmerer’s wonderful book, Braiding Sweetgrass, I began to understand a different way of looking at the world, ownership, giving, and receiving. I wrote about all that here. In her newest book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, Kimmerer continues and deepens the discussion of how Native people like those from whom she descends understand the world as one of abundance that is not owned, but freely given, freely shared. Gratitude is as everyday as breathing. Reciprocity is too.

In Braiding Sweetgrass, she provides a translation of the Thanksgiving Address which has nothing to do with a particular holiday and everything to do with acknowledging the gifts provided by the natural world and present in almost every part of our lives. This beautiful video provides some background on the reasons for and importance of the address. You’ll find a reading of it and a pdf to read along with in “your moment of Zen” at the close of this post.

If you need some help remembering why you dread/love/laugh Thanksgiving…

This 2021 roundup from Buzzfeed with 32 families who made me feel a lot better about my decision to abandon turkeys and tension this year. Here’s my personal favorite from the list:

"This was back in the 80s — AKA, no Google. We finished our Thanksgiving dinner and everyone was cleaning up. Somehow, a button broke off of the dishwasher, so my grandfather grabbed some superglue to fix it. He ended up gluing his hand to the door of the dishwasher. The adults tried to free him, to no avail, so my father had to quite literally dismantle the dishwasher door with his father's hand superglued to the front of it. He carried the door — with my grandfather attached — to the back of our station wagon, and brought the conjoined duo to our local emergency room. They waited for several hours, only to be set free by a nurse who happened to have nail polish remover in her locker." - from Buzzfeed

Alice is gone. Long live Alice’s Restaurant

This song still sends me rocketing back in time to the 70s and first time I ever heard it all the way through: in my old baby blue VW with a hole in the floorboards, creeping north from Massachusetts to northern New Hampshire in a snowstorm on Thanksgiving Day. The 70s are gone and now, so is Alice, the inspiration for the song. But you can still listen to the song.

The end of the turkeys

There comes a time in everyone’s life when you realize you’ve cooked the last turkey you will ever cook. That time, for my husband and me, was last year. This year, we’re making all the sides plus a few extras and serving them up with roast beef. This year, I found all the turkey I wanted in this collection assembled by the Seattle Artist League

Turkey by Jacques Hnizdovsky, born Pylypcze, Ukraine 1915-died New York City 1985. Linocut 1962.

The Chap-Book. Thanksgiving No. Will H. Bradley, born Boston, MA 1868- died La Jolla, CA 1962. Lithograph 1895

Who would you want to hear from?

This invitation from The Common showed up in my email the other day and I’ve been fantasizing ever since. Authors I know of and admire, including some who have inspired me, are offering to write handwritten cards or notes to the highest bidders as part of an annual fundraiser. If you’ve been looking for something special to do for a loved one or yourself, check it out. Bidding closes December 2. Go here to bid or to browse: charityauction.bid/AuthorPostcards. Here’s a look at just some of the authors willing to write personal notes or postcards:

Anne Tyler, Tony Kushner, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Sandra Cisneros, and Julian Barnes. Ann Patchett, Paul Harding, Jennifer Egan, André Aciman, Alice McDermott, Jonathan Lethem, Natalie Diaz, and Gabrielle Zevin, Rebecca Makkai, Jami Attenberg and more…

That’s it, except for this:

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

Gratefully yours,

Betsy

P.S. Your moment of Zen: Thanksgiving Address

Not just for one day of the year. You can listen to a reading of the Thanksgiving Address below and read along here.