Good Morning Gentle Readers,
Thanksgiving is a magnificent, uniquely American celebration of the harvest. Ah yes, a Day of Thanksgiving is also celebrated in a few other countries and cultures, but unlike most of our traditions, its origins are here.
Thanksgiving began as a spontaneous celebration and continued as such, predating our modern preoccupation with government decrees as to when celebrations may occur. You will celebrate Labor Day, it will happen when we say it does, and it will be a three-day weekend. Note to plebes: pack the motorhome, throw a suitcase of Bud into the ice chest, load the Jetskiis, and go forth to snarl the highways like a cholesterol clogged artery in need of bypass surgery—good grief.
Life is short, fleeting, yet it is the ultimate human value. Back in the day, Chuck Davis gave me a pysch-shop button portraying a surrealistic flower in white against a background of bile green. Printed on it was an admonition to Celebrate Life. As hideously ugly as it was, implicit in those words is the basic tenet of Thanksgiving. A simplicity, a celebration of life.
Unlike its hectic Christmas cousin, Thanksgiving is about breaking bread and sharing wine with one’s family and friends. It is about the appreciation for the rewards of our efforts, the blessings of family, and the steadfastness of true friendship. For many, it is a time of spiritual uplift and a special time to be thankful to God for the blessings He has bestowed over the foregoing year.
Sometime during the festivities, find a moment for yourself. Maybe at half time. Maybe after dessert. Pour some wine or a cup of coffee. Take a stroll by yourself. Enjoy the solitude of introspection. Think about where you came from and how you got where you are.
Over the years it is likely that you have had a profound and lasting impact on the lives of more people than you might have imagined. Often, the reverse is true as well. And your being is the happy result of those processes.
On a somewhat different note I also want to express my personal appreciation for a life that has evolved in completely unforeseen directions and in altogether pleasant ways. In more ways than you would suppose I have been blessed.
I am perpetually grateful that my clients have made it possible for me to earn a living in a most agreeable way. And to all those others, Gentle Readers, friends, and family, thank you for your friendship, your love, and your quiet kindness.
From my home to yours, may your Thanksgiving be exactly as you would have it to be.
As Ever,
The Wine Commonsewer
Photo Credit (unless otherwise noted): ©TWC, all rights reserved
