Reflections on Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving 2012 is remarkable for a number of reasons.

Officially it falls on the 4th Thursday of November, which is usually the last Thursday as well, but because of how the calendar played out this year, we have another Thursday in November which falls after Thanksgiving. If you use Black Friday as the start of the Christmas Shopping, it means an extra week of Ho-Ho-Holiday sales for merchants, for which they are surely thankful this year.

Speaking of Black Friday, I'll leave that again to the more intrepid - I have no desire to go out and mix it up with bargain-crazed shoppers. It used to be this annual Orgasm of Consumerism started at 5 AM or so, Friday morning, but it has steadily crept forward, first to Midnight, and now, in some cases to 8 PM Thanksgiving day.

To which I say, shame on you Merchants. And shame on you, Shoppers, since without your enthusiastic support, this inexcusable practice would not happening.

This year is also notable for the fact that Thanksgiving falls on the anniversary of John F Kennedy's assassination - the 49th, as I recall. This monumental tragedy took place two and a half months after my family moved from Fort Worth to the Chicago suburbs. This is one of the reason I lost my Texas accent so quickly.

I'm thankful I survived another year, still employed. I'm thankful the 2012 elections are over, and I'm still on speaking terms with numerous friends and family members.

I'm thankful this year my youngest son is back in Texas, where he's finishing his degree at Texas State University, after starting at George Mason University. It's a better all-around experience - he's living with old friends, can drive home anytime he wants to, and generally finds the environment much more to his taste. Despite its proximity to Washington, DC, he found the whole Virginia experience a lot more Southern than he'd anticipated. Appearances to the contrary, Texas is not southern; at least not when you are as close to Austin as he is. Oh, and Texas in-state tuition is a lot cheaper.

I'm thankful my parents, who will be coming over for dinner today, are still healthy.

I'm thankful the wife and I had a chance to share Canadian Thanksgiving with our oldest son in Toronto, since he won't be able to join us down here this year for American Thanksgiving (or Christmas, it turns out). We spent four days with him, and had a wonderful visit. Thanksgiving Day we took him and a friend to a restaurant where they had turkey and dressing as their special that day. Even though he won't be joining us this year, we're planning to do a Facetime call once the rest of the family gathers.

I'm thankful for friends, old and new, both in person and on-line. The internet is an amazing place.

Here's hoping you have plenty to be thankful for this year. My best to you and all your loved ones.