Jonah Hex fits right into Thanksgiving. Here is your first official look at Josh Brolin as the DC comics character Jonah Hex who is a cowboy in the old west. Movie should be out in the summer and it looks bad ass. The picture totally makes you wonder what really happend back in the times of the first turkey feast.

Dinner is over, the guests have gone home and now we’re just all lounging around in our what we call  after Church “Sunday Comfies.” I found this really cool document authored by one of my favorite US Presidents, George Washington, and thought I would post it up to share with my readers. I love this!

A Proclamation Signed in Script Type by George Washington
Appearing in The Massachusetts Centinel of October 14, 1789

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;– for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;– for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;– and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;– to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

Here’s a little history about the document:

{Click here to view the Original}

This historic proclamation was issued by George Washington during his first year as President. It sets aside Thursday, November 26 as “A Day of Publick Thanksgiving and Prayer.”

Signed by Washington on October 3, 1789 and entitled “General Thanksgiving,” the decree appointed the day “to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.”

While there were Thanksgiving observances in America both before and after Washington’s proclamation, this represents the first to be so designated by the new national government.

After their first harvest, the colonists of the Plymouth Plantation held a celebration of food and feasting in the fall of 1621. Indian chiefs Massassoit, Squanto and Samoset joined in the celebration with ninety of their men in the three-day event.

The first recorded Thanksgiving observance was held on June 29, 1671 at Charlestown, Massachusetts by proclamation of the town’s governing council.

A little more Thanksgiving history:

Later, on October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for the observance of the fourth Tuesday of November as a national holiday.

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday to the third Thursday of November (to extend the Christmas shopping season and boost the economy). After a storm of protest, Roosevelt changed the holiday again in 1941 to the fourth Thursday in November, where it stands today.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Sources: University of Florida via a post on the isi Forum and Early America.com

{Click below to re-post or share with your friends}

I, my head of department and my colleagues S and M were sitting at HoD’s room having a general chat when the topic diverted to marriage and wives.

HoD :- That day I was having  some problem with my mobile. My wife solved the problem whereas I could not!! I didn’t think she can even use a mobile. You know one is lucky to have a simple wife.

M :- Oh yes sir! And in this matter I can say I am a very lucky man.

HoD :- What about you, S? When are you getting married?

S :- Parents are searching for a girl, sir.

HoD :- Good good. You should look for a simple girl. One who is not working and will look after your home and kids nicely. They are the best. In fact you should look for  a girl from rural U.P. [my colleague S hails from rural U.P.]

M :- Yes sir. The farther is the girl’s home , the better she can concentrate in her in-laws place.

S :- Yes, I do not want to marry any working girl.  It is all useless. Whole family, home and kids are ruined.

I asked my HoD something else then and changed the topic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Imagine all this talk when I, a well qualified working girl, is sitting there. I didn’t open my mouth to protest then because it is no use convincing them. I have had many debates with them (my colleagues not HoD) over the years without any results. They are one of the most typical samples of orthodox, conventional and narrow minded men. And I believe a man convinced against his will, is unconvinced still.

I just have a few questions in my mind :-

# 1 What is the definition of a simple girl that many people use in their conversation, on their bio datas and in matrimonial ads? You know in the sentence – “wanted a simple homely girl etc etc”

# 2 Are higher qualifications inversely proportional to simplicity in a girl?

# 3 Do higher qualifications or being tech savvy or being street smart and not being a babe in the woods make girls crooked or something like that?

# 4 Are highly qualified working [i.e. those getting an income] girls less eligible for marriage and even less eligible for being homemakers?

# 5 Does a “simple” girl make a better mother and wife than any other types of girls/women?

# 6 Do kids having a earning mother fare badly in studies and in life?

# 7 Are girls supposed to just forget the place and the people with whom they spend at least 20 years of their life after getting married?

# 8 Why must girls stop being concerned about their parents and become more concerned about their in laws?

# 9 Why are daughter-in-laws expected to become equivalent to daughters for their in laws but son-in-laws can’t (and also are not expected to) become sons for their in laws?

What are your answers?

P.S. Yes I work with very sad people. Sigh!!

Watch the whole thing but pay close attention at 4:08.. You’re welcome.. Full description below

Traditional history will tell us that Thanksgiving is a North American holiday to give thanks at the end of the harvest season. We have also come to know the story of the native Indians.

“The early settlers of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts were particularly grateful to Squanto, the Native American who taught them how to both catch eel and grow corn and also served as their native interpreter (as Squanto had converted to Christianity and learned English as a slave in Europe). Without Squanto assistance, the settlers might not have survived in the New World.

The Plymouth settlers (who came to be called “Pilgrims”) set apart a holiday immediately after their first harvest in 1621. They held an autumn celebration of food, feasting, and praising God. The Governor of Plymouth invited Grand Sachem Massasoit and the Wampanoag people to join them in the feast. Evidence to support that claim came from diaries of Plymouth. The settlers fed and entertained the Native Americans for three days, at which point some of the Native Americans went into the forest, killed 5 deer, and gave them to the Governor as a gift.”

What you do not know is that in the 8th century, African Muslims (Moors) conquered Spain, Portugal and France and controlled it for over 700 years. This, of course, threatened European Christians, or rather “Western Civilization.” There were constant efforts to fight them back and the Pope of Rome, in league with Queen Isabella, sent Cardinal Ximenos to Spain to murder anyone that resisted Christianity.
Sound familiar?

These genocidal policies were justified by the previous Pope Nicholas in 1452, who called for the King of Portugal to invade, search out, vanquish, and subdue all Muslims and pagans, whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ.
In Spain, on November 25, 1491, a dude named Santiago defeated the last Muslim stronghold and on that day King Ferdinand gave thanks to God for this victory and the Pope of Rome declared this day to forever be a day of Thanksgiving for all European Christians. This is where the religious and political motivations that formulated the white supremacist mindset were formulated and when the foundations for the economic colonization of the Americas and its Native peoples were developed.

Thanksgiving in the United States is a part of a tradition that celebrates the subjugation of non-Western people for colonial purposes. Its roots are more directly connected to the events that occurred in the Northeast in the year 1637, when 700 men, women, and children of the Pequot Tribe, gathered for their “Annual Green Corn Dance” in the area that is now known as Groton, Connecticut.

While they were gathered in this place of meeting, they were surrounded and attacked by mercenaries of the English and Dutch. The Indigenous people were ordered from their ceremonial structures and as they came forth, they were shot down. The rest were burned alive in their homes. The next day, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared a day of Thanksgiving, thanking God that they had eliminated over 700 Pequots. Subsequently, every Thanksgiving Day ordained by a Governor or President since was to honor that victory, thanking God that the “battle” had been won. The holiday on the 3rd Thursday of November we celebrate is in observation of these instances and upholds this colonial mentality.

“…Now fight the power
B*tch @ss N*ggas…”-Rass Kass

Bonus:
“In the eight century muslims conquered
Spain, portugal and france and controlled it for 700 years
They never mention this in history class
Cause o’fays are threatened when you get the real lesson
Moors from baghdad, turkey threatened european christians
Meaning, the white way of life; hence the crusades for christ.
On november 25th, 1491
Santiago defeats the last muslim stronghold, grenada
King ferdinand gave thanks to God for victory
and the pope of rome declared this date to forever be
A day of “thanksgiving” for all european christians
.. now listen, when you celebrate “thanksgiving”
What you are actually celebrating
Is the proclamation of the pope of rome
Who later, in league with queen isabella
Sent cardinal ximenos to spain
To murder any blacks that resisted christianity
These moors, these black men and women
Were from baghdad, turkey
And today, you eat the turkey, for your “thanksgiving” day
As the european powers destroyed the turkeys
Who were the forefathers of your mothers and fathers”

This Thanksgiving week, General Motors has officially ceased production of it’s Pontiac brand of vehicles as a result of the bailout by the U.S. government.  Not only could the car maker not meet it’s financial obligations but, the fact is that the car’s brand no longer had the appeal it once did and sales were declining.

The last Pontiac G-8 rolled off the assembly line in Orion heading for a fleet order rather than a museum for posterity sake yesterday.  http://www.detnews.com/article/20091126/AUTO01/911260411/Pontiac-reaches-end-of-the-line/?imw=Y 

http://www.pontiac.com/ has the official closeout information on remaining vehicles for sale with deals as low as o% financing for six years or cash back offers up to $4,500.  As a wake up call to anyone buying a car, six years is an absurd amount of time to pay off a car, especially when the warranty ends before you pay it off.

With discount offers like this across most of GM’s product line up, how they are ever going to make money, get out of bankruptcy and away from government ownership is beyond any one’s guess. 

Besides the 1000’s of job losses at Pontiac plants, NUMMI the joint venture between  GM and Toyota venture looks to be shutting its doors as well. http://www.mercurynews.com/drive/ci_13766495 From the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment by state http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm is listed.  Like the climategate, how true these numbers are is any one’s guess.

I recall the 1978 Pontiac Bonneville that I learned to drive in.  What a tank, but it had the radio antennae built into the glass which was pretty cool.  In 1982 came the Firebird and was featured on the TV Show Knight Rider.  I never owned one, but a lot of my buddies did and it was a girl magnet.

Pontiac Fiero

In 1984,  my dad through a mid life crisis or whatever, found the Pontiac Fiero much more in the spirit of things.  What a car it was and far removed from anything on the market.  The damned things body was made of plastic!  We’ll some sort of poly-resin- that when a grocery cart hit it it bounced off with no damage.  With no USA steel to give it strength, on impact the car crumbled.  Luckily, we never crashed it but traded it it on something or another.  Might have been the Cadillac Sedan De Ville with the horrendous 4-6-8 valve engine- another GM disaster.

Our Fiero was hot red in color with every option known to man, including the fabulous sound system from Bose.  Nothing like Van Halen screaming at you at ten decibels while driving down the highway. A definite babe magnet of a car.  It made you want to live in the fast lane or at least drive in it.

Chief Pontiac, Ottawa Tribe

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Chief Pontiac of the Ottawa Tribe must be glad to know that the spirit of the Pontiac brand of vehicles will go on- in memory at least.  He was quoted as saying, 

According to a French chronicler, in a second council Pontiac proclaimed:

It is important for us, my brothers, that we exterminate from our lands this nation which seeks only to destroy us. You see as well as I that we can no longer supply our needs, as we have done from our brothers, the French…. Therefore, my brothers, we must all swear their destruction and wait no longer. Nothing prevents us; they are few in numbers, and we can accomplish it.   Peckham, Indian Uprising, 119–20; Dixon, Never Come to Peace, 109. via  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Pontiac#cite_note-8

It didn’t turn out so good for the Indians being forced to reservations, but in the long run some tribes are probably more financially stable than the U.S. government,  thanks to good fiscal policy and casino’s.

Ironically enough, the Pontiac Silverdome was sold this month for $583,000 USD to a Toronto, Canadadian businessman. Completed in 1975 as the Pontiac Metropolitan Stadium, at a cost of $55.7 million, the Silverdome seats 80,311. It contains 102 luxury suites and 7,384 club seats. more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Silverdome

“While still not sure what he’ll ultimately do with the stadium, adjacent fieldhouse and 127 acres of land, Apostolopoulos said he’d like to return it to being a place that hosts football, soccer, hockey and basketball as well as concerts.  “People today like sports so we have to keep it for sports events,” he said. “Whatever they like, we’ll do.” But Apostolopoulos said the zoning does allow for the tearing down of the stadium and the building of houses, apartments or almost any other kind of construction.” http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/729769–toronto-developer-snaps-up-vacant-pontiac-silverdome

At less than $5000 USD an acre that was a good deal for any pilgrim. 

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Pumpkin pi. GET IT? Pi? Pie?? GET IT??!! (Okay, the jokes get better from here.)

(Hey, all. Cat goes home today! I’ll write more later. [Once home I'll begin updating her status via Twitter; I invite you to follow me there.] In the meantime, here’s a fun little Thanksgiving quiz I posted right about this time last year.)

1. The Pilgrims were:
a.  an exceptionally boring rock band from Kidneypool, England.
b. a sure way to kill any party.
c. the least fashionable sailors ever.
d. Christians who fled England in rebellion against Henry VIII’s forbidding of pew cushions.

2. The first thing Indians thought upon meeting the Pilgrims was:
a. “Why are these people the color of our gums?”
b. “Sun. Black clothes. Cool! Human popovers!”
c. “Okay, these guys are turkeys.”
d. “Bummer. There goes the neighborhood.”

3. The Mayflower was:
a.. the name of the company that moved the Pilgrims from England to America.
b. the primary ingredient used by Pilgrims to make the May chocolate chip cookies.
c. a ship that got lost somewhere between the Thames river and Hawaii.
d. a pretty gay name for a boat.

4. The purpose of Thanksgiving is to commemorate:
a. the founding of the New World.
b. the losing of the New World.
c. the temporary misplacement of the New World.
d. the Pilgrims smoking their first peace-pipe with the Indians.
e. the Pilgrims discovering the Indians didn’t know tobacco from a lava lamp.

5. Plymouth Rock is significant because:
a. it’s the first organic musical form to give expression to the Pilgrim experience.
b. how many rocks get their own name?.
c. it’s the first place on the North American continent where the Pilgrims ruined their shins.
d. it’s what the Chrysler company tethered to its last idea for a decent car before hurling it into the ocean.

6. “Maize” is the Algonquin Indian word for:
a. No way out.
b. Not belonging to February, March, or April.
c. “He who awesomely dominates the center of the field.”
d. tired, boring, cliche, trite: corny.

7. At first the Pilgrims had a hard time surviving in America because:
a. Their humongous belt buckles prevented effective arrow ducking.
b. They refused to pay taxes.
c. It’s so demoralizing when the native population won’t stop making fun of your hat.
d. All their gunpowder was wet.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, and a most joyous holiday season.

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No Thanks to Thanksgiving

By Robert Jensen, AlterNet. Posted November 23, 2006. One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting. In fact, indigenous people have offered such a model; since 1970 they have marked the fourth Thursday of November as a Day of Mourning in a spiritual/political ceremony on Coles Hill overlooking Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, one of the early sites of the European invasion of the Americas. Not only is the thought of such a change in this white-supremacist holiday impossible to imagine, but the very mention of the idea sends most Americans into apoplectic fits — which speaks volumes about our historical hypocrisy and its relation to the contemporary politics of empire in the United States. That the world’s great powers achieved “greatness” through criminal brutality on a grand scale is not news, of course. That those same societies are reluctant to highlight this history of barbarism also is predictable. But in the United States, this reluctance to acknowledge our original sin — the genocide of indigenous people — is of special importance today. It’s now routine — even among conservative commentators — to describe the United States as an empire, so long as everyone understands we are an inherently benevolent one. Because all our history contradicts that claim, history must be twisted and tortured to serve the purposes of the powerful. One vehicle for taming history is various patriotic holidays, with Thanksgiving at the heart of U.S. myth-building.

From an early age, we Americans hear a story about the hardy Pilgrims, whose search for freedom took them from England to Massachusetts. There, aided by the friendly Wampanoag Indians, they survived in a new and harsh environment, leading to a harvest feast in 1621 following the Pilgrims first winter. Some aspects of the conventional story are true enough. But it’s also true that by 1637 Massachusetts Gov. John Winthrop was proclaiming a thanksgiving for the successful massacre of hundreds of Pequot Indian men, women and children, part of the long and bloody process of opening up additional land to the English invaders. The pattern would repeat itself across the continent until between 95 and 99 percent of American Indians had been exterminated and the rest were left to assimilate into white society or die off on reservations, out of the view of polite society. Simply put: Thanksgiving is the day when the dominant white culture (and, sadly, most of the rest of the non-white but non-indigenous population) celebrates the beginning of a genocide that was, in fact, blessed by the men we hold up as our heroic founding fathers. The first president, George Washington, in 1783 said he preferred buying Indians’ land rather than driving them off it because that was like driving “wild beasts” from the forest. He compared Indians to wolves, “both being beasts of prey, tho’ they differ in shape.” Thomas Jefferson — president #3 and author of the Declaration of Independence, which refers to Indians as the “merciless Indian Savages” — was known to romanticize Indians and their culture, but that didn’t stop him in 1807 from writing to his secretary of war that in a coming conflict with certain tribes, “[W]e shall destroy all of them.” As the genocide was winding down in the early 20th century, Theodore Roosevelt (president #26) defended the expansion of whites across the continent as an inevitable process “due solely to the power of the mighty civilized races which have not lost the fighting instinct, and which by their expansion are gradually bringing peace into the red wastes where the barbarian peoples of the world hold sway.” Roosevelt also once said, “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of ten are, and I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth.”

How does a country deal with the fact that some of its most revered historical figures had certain moral values and political views virtually identical to Nazis? Here’s how “respectable” politicians, pundits, and professors play the game: When invoking a grand and glorious aspect of our past, then history is all-important. We are told how crucial it is for people to know history, and there is much hand wringing about the younger generations’ lack of knowledge about, and respect for, that history. In the United States, we hear constantly about the deep wisdom of the founding fathers, the adventurous spirit of the early explorers, the gritty determination of those who “settled” the country — and about how crucial it is for children to learn these things. But when one brings into historical discussions any facts and interpretations that contest the celebratory story and make people uncomfortable — such as the genocide of indigenous people as the foundational act in the creation of the United States — suddenly the value of history drops precipitously and one is asked, “Why do you insist on dwelling on the past?” This is the mark of a well-disciplined intellectual class — one that can extol the importance of knowing history for contemporary citizenship and, at the same time, argue that we shouldn’t spend too much time thinking about history. This off-and-on engagement with history isn’t of mere academic interest; as the dominant imperial power of the moment, U.S. elites have a clear stake in the contemporary propaganda value of that history. Obscuring bitter truths about historical crimes helps perpetuate the fantasy of American benevolence, which makes it easier to sell contemporary imperial adventures — such as the invasion and occupation of Iraq — as another benevolent action.

Any attempt to complicate this story guarantees hostility from mainstream culture. After raising the barbarism of America’s much-revered founding fathers in a lecture, I was once accused of trying to “humble our proud nation” and “undermine young people’s faith in our country.” Yes, of course — that is exactly what I would hope to achieve. We should practice the virtue of humility and avoid the excessive pride that can, when combined with great power, lead to great abuses of power. History does matter, which is why people in power put so much energy into controlling it. The United States is hardly the only society that has created such mythology. While some historians in Great Britain continue to talk about the benefits that the empire brought to India, political movements in India want to make the mythology of Hindutva into historical fact. Abuses of history go on in the former empire and the former colony. History can be one of the many ways we create and impose hierarchy, or it can be part of a process of liberation. The truth won’t set us free, but the telling of truth at least opens the possibility of freedom. As Americans sit down on Thanksgiving Day to gorge themselves on the bounty of empire, many will worry about the expansive effects of overeating on their waistlines. We would be better to think about the constricting effects of the day’s mythology on our minds. AlterNet orginally ran this article on Thanksgiving 2005

Today, we celebrate Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving- a holiday which we’re told was initially celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Indians to give thanks for bountiful harvests.  Today, Thanksgiving is typically a celebration with friends and family where we stuff ourselves full of turkey and other delicious food till we’re in a food coma.  Damn that tryptophan.  Those still awake watch football or plan where they’re going for the Black Friday deals.

Over the last few days, I’ve been contemplating and reflecting over the things that I am thankful for this year.  Some times sarcasm creeps– what can you be thankful for when your world is turned upside down and you’ve lived through the darkest, loneliest, saddest times you’ve ever been through.  I’ve then given myself a mental pep talk.  After several days of  thinking, I’ve found some light in the darkness.

Basically 2009 has just plain sucked since February.  Life was so good before February- I had a husband whom I loved dearly and we were such a happy family with our new son.  Everybody was healthy.  Life was good.

Then along came February and the stage IV diagnosis, followed by our fight and culminating in our lost battle.

But through it all there are things to be thankful for.

Nathaniel.  I have a wonderful easy going delightful son.  He is a pleasure to be around and his growth and development is nothing short of amazing to witness.

John got to be a father and he was a great one.  Some men never have the opportunity to become fathers.  Of the ones that do, not all of them are great.  John enjoyed fatherhood as much as he physically could through his illness.  Mentally it gave him a reason to fight and a reason to live that stretched beyond self.  John loved his boy so much.  He told me that Nathaniel’s laughter was his most favorite sound.

I had a great marriage and was married to a wonderful man.  I’ve been able to experience true love.  There are lots of people who can’t say that.  I have enough wonderful memories to hopefully last a lifetime.

John’s illness has taught me to stand up for what is right and to fight for those you love and to pick up the pieces and carry on.  The Mary of years past, wouldn’t have stood up to the well known and credentialed doctor and told him that we weren’t done fighting and if he was, then he could be forever referred to by name as “the doctor that gave up on daddy and the doctor who let daddy die.”  The doctors and nurses have other patients and rooms to visit.  The patient has one life.  Sometimes you have to stand up for those you love and insist on the best treatment for your loved one.  In the end maybe the outcome isn’t the most important thing, but rather how you life the life you have and the memories that you leave.  We’ve all been born and we’ll all die… really it’s the parts in the middle that we need to really make count!

John’s death has left me with a hole in my heart- grief, heartache, and loneliness like nothing else I’ve ever experienced.  But, I’m getting through it… not over it, but through it.  Some days are like walking through a nice grassy meadow with the sun warmly shining.  Others are like fighting my way through thick mud and slipping, sliding, falling, and getting up and pushing on.  The sun rises.  The sun sets.  Life goes on.  If I choose to live life or not, it still continues- better to enjoy it while I can.  Nathaniel, the horses, and the cats have kept me going.  They all need me and they all love me.  I’m working or re-building my life.  It won’t ever be the same or the happy home and strong fortress that it was with the three of us, but we’re making it.  It’s not always easy, it’s not always pretty, and it certainly isn’t always clean, but we’re making it…. one day at a time.  Life goes on.  We never know how short or long our life will be.  To me it only makes sense to enjoy it to it’s fullest and be happy as best you can.

For some reason, John’s death has chilled me out more and I don’t usually get upset over the little stuff.  In the end, the little things don’t matter.  It’s the big picture.  I just want to relax and enjoy simple pleasures- hug my kid, ride my horses, take a walk, pet the critters, and just enjoy life.  I’m very fortunate that I can do all of those things without even leaving Leaky Creek!  I love my farm, my house, my horses, my cats, and my son.  I truly feel like there is something else out there beyond our realm.  I do think that John has given me signs.  It’s reassuring and gives me an inner peace that I need.  Attending church has been helpful.  I used to fear dying terribly.  After I held John’s hand as he died, my fear left.  Someday, I’m sure we’ll be together again… as long as he doesn’t hook up with some hot angel in the meantime…

Annapolis Fire Department.  They were absolutely amazing during John’s illness and they (along with Community Fire Company of Rising Sun) made his funeral a fitting tribute to a wonderful man and amazing firefighter.  AFD did so many wonderful things that I know I can’t mention all of them.  They covered John’s shifts, so he received full pay.  They allowed him to retire on disability.  They came to visit him in the hospital and were there for his 2nd round of IL2 treatments at 6 AM & 10 PM.  They transformed our half bath into full bath with a shower that John could use.  Sometimes when you’re sick… the ability to get clean just means so much.  Sadly, John was only able to use his shower a few times, but it was very much appreciated!    AFD built a ramp, so we could get the wheelchair in and out easily.  They mowed our grass and did assorted maintenance jobs.  They went with us to many doctor’s visits so I didn’t have to worry about driving on little sleep or in unpredictable traffic.  They sent meals.  They held a fundraiser in Annapolis.  They participated in Team Smitty for the LiveStrong Challenge.  In, short, they took care of their brother.  John truly worked for a topnotch organization.  He loved working there and they loved him, too.  I miss them.

I’m thankful to the wonderful medical personnel that we encountered… from the friendly, familiar faces on the ambulance, to the caring hospital nurses, to our beloved home health nurses, and every smiling caring face in between.

I am thankful to the friends and family who have supported us and were there for John, Nathaniel, and myself.  During times of crisis, you find out who your true friends are.  Sometimes they are who you think they are… sometimes they’re different people.  I  have been very fortunate that no matter how alone I feel, I am not without friends to support me.  Some friendships have strengthened and I’ve even found new friends.  A simple phone call can make all the difference in the world.  Many people have also helped me out with everything from mowing grass, to checking car brakes, to babysitting, to installing ceiling fans, to watching Nathaniel while I got some equine therapy… and just being there when I needed to talk, needed a hug, or needed a shoulder to cry on.  This Thanksgiving, I’ve received so many invitations- thanks to everybody who thought about my boy and me and knew that we might not have a place to go.

I also have the world’s best babysitter.  I can’t tell you how amazing she has been with my son and how much I enjoy and value her friendship.  We’ve known each other since elementary school, but had lost touch through the years.  Facebook re-united us and I consider her to be one of my best friends, now.  We share conversations, hugs, and tears.  There is nothing like having the piece of mind that my son is being cared for as if her were part of her family.  Nathaniel helped carve his first pumpkin and made his first art project with them.  Her daughter is like a sister to him.  Nathaniel adores her husband and I think it is important for Nathaniel to  have a good male role model in his life.  I can go to work and have no concerns and no worries… to quote the credit card commercials.. “Peace of mind– priceless.”   I know John would approve.

I also hope that I can do some things in memory of John to help fight melanoma and fight cancer.  I don’t want his death to be in vain.  Skin cancer can kill.  We need more melanoma awareness and much, much more research.  I’d love to do a memorial bike ride, since he loved to cycle.

So, even in what has been the worst year in my 34 year life, there are things to be thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving everybody.  Hug your spouse.  Hug your kid(s).  Pet the critters.  Eat up and watch some football.  And if you get a chance before the food coma sets in take at least a brief moment to remember what you’re thankful for.

Sunday River’s New Campaign

Newry, ME — With every new ski season comes a new campaign to generate interest in the sport and its respected resorts. This year Sunday River will promote their resort with an intricately designed image on their websites, clothing, stickers, etc. Sunday River wanted to stay away from the current fad of bright and loud patterns that are reminiscent of the eighties, and go in a totally new direction. The resort wanted their new campaign to be prominently featured amongst complex, intricate designs created by the Native Americans. So, Sunday River went out and hired a group of Native American artisans, the Aryan Nation.

“Listen,” begins a distressed Sunday River executive, “we totally fucked up and we know it. We wanted to hire some Native Americans, but who the hell knows even knows an actual Native American person? We needed to find out how to locate some, so we went online to search them. Originally, we all agreed that Cherokees were pretty badass and that we should contact them, but every time we Googled them, we kept getting results for websites about jeeps. After that didn’t work, we then typed in ‘true Americans’, and that’s how we found the Aryan Nation’s website. We just assumed that ‘true Americans’ meant ‘Native Americans’, and you’ve got to admit that Aryan Nation does sound like a Native American reservation. Honestly, we didn’t know that we were hiring ignorant assholes. We just thought that we were getting some Indians.”

On the behalf of the Aryan Nation, Roger Whiteback, chief propaganda designer, states his brotherhood’s side of the story. “First of all, me and my partner, Stan Whiteface, were super-duper excited to do the Sunday River project. What they did was send us a rough sketch of what they wanted. Their original sketch was this picture of a weird image that had about four arms extended from the center, and within that image were the words ‘We Support White Powder’. So, I went to work on the background image first. I couldn’t make out what the hell that thing was supposed to be, but when I started to squint at it, it made sense. It was just a poorly drawn swastika. Well, I beefed it up a bit, and made it into one of the best swastikas I’ve ever designed. They got mad about that because later on, after we finished the project, they told me it was actually a snowflake and not a swastika. Then there was the incident with their slogan in the forefront of their sketch: ‘We Support White Powder’. They got all pissed when I took the letter ‘d’ out of ‘Powder’. Seriously? They hired the Aryan Nation, of course we’re gonna think ‘We Support White Powder’ is a typo, ya know?”

After experiencing a rough economic patch, Boyne has admitted that they’re unable to financially support a new campaign, and if they want to continue to promote their ski resort, then the Aryan’s finished product will have to suffice.

A Boyne spokesperson further explains their company’s stance. “We’re in the middle of a financial dilemma here and a racial controversy, but we’re just going to have to lean on the old proverb that ‘All publicity is good publicity’. Yes we accidentally employed the Aryan Nation, but it was for a very brief moment in time. We’re willing to admit that we had a brief exchange, but we don’t want people to think we’ve been rubbing elbows so hard with the Aryans that their lynching arms are bruised.”

To help put Sunday River back into the good graces of its loyal guests, and also distance themselves from white supremacy, Boyne employed a Jewish publicist to put a positive spin on the “We Support White Power” campaign, and prove that if a Jew could work for Sunday River, then their logo can’t possibly stem back to the days of the Nazis.

“Alright,” begins the Jewish publicist, Sal Steinberg, finally, after fifteens minutes of pleading for someone to turn the heat up at Sunday River’s press conference. “You’ll notice the words ‘We Support White Powder’ in the middle of this here sticker. Last winter was pretty tough financially, and there wasn’t enough money to put into a second campaign, but we did have enough money for a case of Whiteout. If you put your face a few inches away you’ll clearly notice that each sticker has squeezed in a Whiteout letter ‘d’ to make the word ‘Powder’. This makes each one unique and a collector’s item. Now, let’s talk about that background symbol. Since when did a windmill-esque image, on an axis, with four arms that eventually bend at a ninety degree angle, automatically mean it’s a swastika? We just thought it’d be fun to stray away from the traditional idea that a snowflake is a fancy, doily-looking object. We just took a simple, stripped down image to use instead. Everyone uses the fancy snowflake image, and as everyone knows, no two snowflakes are the same. So, we believe a snowflake like ours could definitely exist.” He’s right, it did exist. In East Germany.

Later that night, a waitress at the Matterhorn Ski Bar overheard the Jewish publicist, in a nasally voice, saying the following (right before he left a meager eight percent tip), “I’m so nauseous right now. I can’t believe I said those things for money. I feel like one of those prostitutes, you know? The ones with the ungodly clothing and diseases. I hate myself. I’m going to have nightmares for weeks now about Moses chasing me with a pitchfork. My poor mother would never forgive me for getting involved with those Nazi lovers. I just want to go back to my condo in Miami.”

After dumping the body of the young woman who overheard the publicist, Boyne and Sunday River executives were hoping that the explanation of the logo would help the controversy blow over, but certain groups took notice. One of those groups, the Ku Klux Klan, overheard the conference, and one of their leaders had this to say, “As you’ve probably guessed, we are ecstatic that Sunday River surfaced their true feelings and beliefs. We finally have a safe place to go on a skiing vacation now. A place where we’ll be accepted in our hood and robes. It’s not easy going out in public when you dress like us. You have no idea how painful it is to be constantly judged and ostracized everywhere you go, just because of who you are. It doesn’t matter now though, because in Bethel, they tell it like it is. White Power all the way! Hell, they even support the Confederacy. I mean, they must support the Confederacy if they put a statue of a faggy Union soldier, on Bethel’s Main St., smack-dab between a homo flower store and a God damn taco shop! I love it! Reminds me of the good ol’ days in Montgomery, Alabama.”

After a private meeting, executives of Boyne and Sunday River held another press conference. “We have finally come up with a way to prove that we aren’t racist, and that we don’t support White Power,” exclaims a representative of Sunday River, who regularly quotes the movie Blazing Saddles. “Our superiors at Boyne Realty are currently installing a border length wall to stop racist people like the Aryan Nation and the KKK from entering Maine. We originally had the idea to build the wall years ago to keep out Massholes, and now it’s finally about to become a reality. Aside from those three groups, other people wishing to come to Bethel are still more than welcome and may enter from New Hampshire, because Canada will obviously be completely walled off. However, due to the wall being several miles wide, it was incidentally built on top of Gorham, New Hampshire, so people will instead have to go through the wall’s border patrol located in Berlin. Now, I know some people are worried, but as long as people have their papers in order, they’ll be fine. Everyone’s really friendly at the Berlin Wall.”

Lord Macaulay’s address to Brit parliament:

1)  You get hammered at dinner and talk about how the American Indians were screwed out of Manhattan island during the War of 1812..

2) Make your daughter cry because you tell her that OBAMA chopped the head of Tom Turkey on the front lawn of the White House because he thought it was Bill O’Reilly…

3) Talk incessantly about how you played high school football and that during the 1974 Thanksgiving Day game vs your rival Teaneck that you threw a touchdown pass to your best buddy, who stole your 8 track player from your 1967 Chevy Nova…

4)  Make statements like  “  You think the recession is bad now on Thanksgiving, wait until Christmas hits kids…Trust me it will be brutal “…”  Just being honest people”….

5) Keep bringing up deceased members of the family at dinner  and what FOODS they DIDN’T like when they were ” with us”…  ex.  POP POP ( Grandpa) hated sweet potatoes, or “remember how Aunt Sylvia used to hate gravy”….

    Oh well you get it  …Let’s hear  some of your Worst things scenarios !

Here’s why I don’t need a kid. Last year, Eric and I rented a cabin in the NC mountains for Thanksgiving, and invited my parents, his dad, and step-mom to meet us there. My mother brought so much stuff to prepare a homestyle feast that their car literally got stuck in the snowy driveway coming up to the cabin and we had to spend an hour freezing our butts off digging it out. But all was good, because when it comes to holidays, I am a traditional gal. I want the same foods I’ve had since I can remember, I want the same decorations, the same music, etc. Yeah, I know, I’m a princess.

So, Mom brought her Pilgrim and Indian decorations that she’s had for 35 years, little painted figurines portraying the first Thanksgiving meal. My husband (child, husband, whatever) staged a coup, arranged the Pilgrims and Indians in a war with each other, hung one Pilgrim from a bannister, kidnapped all of the little girl Pilgrims, and left a ransom note behind.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families. I hope they’re all as crazy as mine. -K

(And yes, the hostages were released after some intense negotiations.)

Sherman Alexie

Review © 2009 G.N. Jacobs

What is going on? I read a collection of short stories by a Native American writer and there isn’t a single reference to a skinwalker or Wendigo. For a writer that dresses his angst and memories, however distorted, up in starkly drawn archetypes that scare, thrill and/or amuse, a mostly autobiographical collection of short stories from a segment of America that is almost as alien to me as the Barsoom culture of C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy seems like a stretch. But, then I read everything and worry about what sticks later.

Sherman Alexie writes of his childhood on the Spokane Indian Reservation by turns far more stark than anything that bubbles out of my mind, but maintains a love and reverence for the people in his life to whom he extended the Names Changed to Protect the Guilty status. I suppose the operative rule here is that we grow up loving our families, even if they are drunks. It takes a lot to wipe clean the psychic scars of our families.

Lone Ranger causes a an intense emotional rollercoaster for the reader as much for the shared debate about our history as for the simple power of the stories about Indians on a reservation that lived the stereotype of drunks with no hope. We write what we see around us and Alexie saw fistfights on the lawn, fathers abandoning their children and a river of alcohol. Is it stereotype or autobiography?

The best writers say F-O and make their daily page quotas. It is not the writer’s job to second-guess his life for appropriate review by people who weren’t there. Even still, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to weep for a culture destroyed by greed or simply shrug and let people figure out on-their-own that everyone has choices to make.

Alexie uses some clever shifts in narrative style to tell interlocked stories about the Spokane Reservation and the people with whom he grew up. Sometimes the narrator or focus character is Victor and sometimes Junior Polatkin. Both of these voices tell tales of alcohol-fueled stupidity mixed with echoes of the great stories of the tribe’s past and a deep all abiding passion for basketball.

We all have our booze stories and we all think ours are the greatest until we read stories like these created by professionals. I haven’t directly experienced fistfights between family members like in “Every Little Hurricane.” I only heard about them a few days later. But, even on Alexie’s reservation good things happen.

Boys skip school to visit grandfathers. Friends share beer, good times and fantastic stories. Mothers make fry bread and make do with government cheese. The people endure. The stories endure, especially when told by Thomas Builds-Fire, a storyteller like Cassandra to whom no one listens. The dream-stories of Indians winning against the whites or at least gaining a more favorable place in society serve as a counterpoint to the misery and despair of reservation life. Indians steal horses and play cowboy songs and hold their own.

There were some concepts missing from Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven at least in the versions of this book that have been circulating since 1993. I thought the basketball was given short shrift in the stories that passed muster with the editor. Hoops only serves as a symbol of loss, the one good thing that goes away because Indians drink too much and wallow in their sadness most palpable.

Sure, there are a few scenes of characters picking up the rock and shooting hoops until they heal. But, mostly Alexie violates “Show don’t Tell” when it comes to the basketball. One of these stories really needed to take place on the court. Most of us have tried to play sports; we would recognize ourselves in the low post sweat running freely making a commitment that the gomer with the ball will never score on us.

But, we are only told how important basketball is for building and supporting what remains of Spokane Reservation society and culture. It’s a flaw in an otherwise beautiful book where the reader can smell the whiskey, puke and meat not even a dog would touch. I could hear the laughter of Indians trying to hold onto what remains of their dignity. I really wanted to learn more about how Victor and/or Junior stood their ground in the ninety-foot arena, but I was only told “an Indian probably was shooting hoops before Naismith invented the game.”

All in all Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven was a very good reason to learn literacy: that we get to learn new things we would never experience. So maybe their will be a better hoops story in the thirtieth anniversary version of the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Ranger-Tonto-Fistfight-Heaven/dp/0802141676/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254945452&sr=1-1

Today was our Thanksgiving dinner at my job. This was the first year I experienced a dinner at this company. I really liked this dinner, actually it was a lunch. The reason I like it so much is that the owner appreciates us all so much. I feel as if I am treated well at this company. I am not treated as I have been at previous higher-paying jobs. The owner actually told us that he really appreciates us all, and feels blessed to be associated with us all. And the dinner was a catered one. He paid for it to be catered by the company who owns the cafe there on the property. And the turkey was good. The potatoes were even better. And the stuffing was perfect. Oh and we had pumpkin pie too.

So I came home and decided to stay home from school tonight. I’ve only missed one other day in this class. I think we’re allowed 3 or 4.

There have been a lot of programs on the cable channel that are about the American Indians and their plight. I remember that when I was a little girl, I loved learning about the Indians and tried as hard as I could to be one, or be like one. I’d ride around with moccasins and bareback on my horses. And I loved my animals and nature, and just being out in the hills with my animals and on a horse. And I read everything that I could find about the Indians and their horsemanship.

I had let Pinkie out of her cage while I was at work today. She came out from under the chair a couple of hours after I got home, and she jumped right back into her cage all by herself. She was hungry and ate. So then I took Priti out and gave her the antibiotic medicine. She takes it now without even getting upset. She seems to like it. And then I let her loose in the living room. I have their cages stacked, one on top of another. Priti is in the new cage on the second level. She seems to like it up there. And Pinkie seems to like Priti’s old cage better than the first one that I had her in. And Nala sleeps on top of that cage at night. Priti yawns huge bunny yawns with her mouth wide open. It’s so cute the way that I can see her front teeth.

I love my Nala too, so much. She loves to lay in the floor of the bathroom while I get ready in the morning. And she lays flat on her back and looks at me upside-down, with her paws over her head. She’s so funny I tell her.

Last night I baked a coffee struesel cake. It’s the good kind, that I can’t stop eating. I’ll have to make it last through the weekend. I’m looking forward to this coming 4 day weekend. And just sewing and sleeping and relaxing. I used to get nervous about 3 day weekends, years ago when I lived by myself. I don’t now, I like the long weekends. I guess I’m not lonely any more. And I look forward to rest and being at home here, with my animals.

Fall in Trimble County

Hey y’all-

I thought I would post a quick note on Thanksgiving. Our friends in Taiwan hear about Thanksgiving, but they don’t really understand what we are celebrating. Also, people in the United States hear of Thanksgiving and do not really understand what we are celebrating. Let me tell you a bit about it…

Thanksgiving came about as a holiday to remember the debt of gratitude owed by the first American settlers (the Pilgrims) to the native Americans for their help in surviving in a new and harsh land. The Pilgrims were trying to escape religious persecution and came to the New Land to worship as they saw fit. They weren’t really into religious freedom for everyone, but that idea did come later….much later….

Nonetheless, when they landed in America, the living condition were rough. People died. Starvation. Wild animals. Disease. Cold. All kinds of hardships. The Indians (this is a term of endearment in my book, so fret not PC police) befriended the Pilgrims after a time and taught them necessary survival skills. They learned to farm, fish, hunt, and live in the new land.

The Pilgrims decided to celebrate and thank God for their survival. They invited their new friends the Indians to the party. Thanksgiving was born….the year was 1621.

Today, in America, Thanksgiving is the start of the Christmas shopping season. It is an excuse to take a day or two off from work, eat a lot of food, hang-out with family, and overindulge. Thanksgiving is far from its original intention in the American landscape. What to do?

Take it back. Be thankful to God. Praise Him for all He is. Praise Him for all you are. Praise Him for all you have. Praise Him. Worship Him. Be thankful to the One who made you, loves you, and offers you salvation through His Son, Jesus.

The ultimate act of thankfulness? Accepting the free offer of salvation made by God through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Be thankful….for eternity.

Thoughts?

Uncle Jeff

Corporate Social Responsible News: Pepsico Saves Water in India; McKesson’s New LEEDS Center

Here is an ongoing journal of impressions from our currently-ongoing India trip.  I am also *intending* to take pictures from our trip and upload them once I return — let’s see whether I’m disciplined enough to stick to this; I have been known not to be so in the past…

• The transcontinental journey was completed with erstwhile unknown efficiency, thanks to Air Emirates, but our first taste of India happened to be one of inefficiency, as we suffered through a couple of hours of luggage-intezaar.  Funny how many Indians, who toe the line abroad and become paragons of civil virtue, become inconsiderate  and callous once they step on Indian soil. Case in point: People crowding around the carousel, denying room to a person in a wheelchair and an elderly lady.  Counterpoint: The same people who denied room, retrieving the luggage of the man in the wheelchair and the elderly lady.  Why is consideration an afterthought in our home country?
• I opened the window of our hired Tata Sumo to let in the early morning Mumbai air.  The air was warm, humid, filled with the sounds of the early stirrings of the city; smelling faintly of smoke, the not-so-distant sea and inescapably–urine. 
• Rishu, 4, was awake in wide-eyed wonder: he was shocked that he did not have to sit on a car seat or wear a seat belt, and that 3 people could sit in the front seat of the car.  His exact words, ”I have never been like this before.  Vava, when you were a little boy, were you like this?”
• We arrived home to warm embraces by family members.  It was 4 AM, and yet everyone (including our 3-year old niece) was wide awake, waiting to greet us.  It was like we had never left, and 3 1/2 years simply disappeared, unspoken, in an instant, in the easy comfort of familiar company.      
• Until, of course, people started remarking left and right, “Rishu has become so big,” “Kitni dubli ho gayi he, kuchh dieting chalu hai kya?” and of course the relatively straightforward, “3 1/2 years ke baad India aane me kaisa lag raha hai?“
• The clock just stuck 5 AM when the nearby temple started blaring devotional songs in Marathi: apparently, this is some sort of holy week and the songs would be played from 5 AM to 5 PM.  Nowhere else but in Maharashtra is Hinduism less a way of life than in the way of everybody’s life…

Food diary

One of my goals on this trip is to indulge myself to excess in a variety of Indian foods.  Mission accomplished the first day with the following “good eats”:

• Paratha stuffed with a besan/onion/chili/garlic mixture called Sathu – a traditional Bihari breakfast, with a side of a lime-mango-mustard oil pickle
• Steamed rice dumplings stuffed with chana dal, garlic and salt called bagia – another Bihari item
• Besan laddus and store bought Mysore pak

(all this within consumed within an hour of arrival, I am pleased to say!)

Ah, a new post.  And I love the big blue “Publish” button on the right hand side of my screen.  To think!  All the real paper, and ink, and candlelight, and blood, sweat and tears it used to require to publish something.  Thanks to the internet, we can all be published, and published immediately, for better or for worse.

Though I usually love writing, I often struggle with writing at work.  Partly that’s because copywriting is a totally different kind of animal.  There’s no room for stream-of-consciousness, diary-style, emotional downpour in the world of words for money.  You have to sell benefits (NOT features!), be succinct, grab attention, connect with YOU the reader, be witty.  There are rules.  So when I’m not feeling in the zone, copywriting is not all that fun (forget that I had a copywriting business for a few years… lol  but writer’s block falls on the just and unjust alike.)

The other difficult thing about writing at work is just the committee factor.  Granted, I hate having to write something that will go out to the masses without anyone offering me any feedback or even a simple proofread.  But on the other hand, there’s nothing more maddening than 3, 4, 5, 6 or more people continually sending you their edits on a piece.  This happens often at my job.  One is tempted to slap oneself silly when such a process not only happens, but sprawls out across email after email (and they use 4 colors!  Red for deletions, blue for additions, orange… see?  Can’t remember.  I am pretty sure this is why change tracking was developed by the fine folks at Microsoft.)

I also find it funny when people argue with you over something subjective.  Do I just nod my head and agree, or do I fight for my word choice?  I try to go the “I disagree, but no matter…” route as much as possible.  These type of things just aren’t worth fighting over.  I just find it amazing that people feel something subjective can be treated as objective.

Anyway, I’m just a person who loves her job but today is a little frustrated by some of the minutiae that make up a day of work… and I’m not even getting into the REAL details! : )

It is probably because it’s day one of a two-day work week… day two being Tuesday.  And days three through seven being Thanksgiving week vacation time!  My brother and sister-in-law are driving down from Minnesota (they literally live on the river in Fargo, ND, but they live in Minnesota).  (Ooh, I think you need a picture for that.  There you go.  Although I don’t know why the two cities look so far away in the map — they are just one city really.)

Anyway, so all I can think of doing right now is cooking, baking, watching our two dogs play together (cousin dogs!), seeing family, going for walks, sitting near the fireplace, watching the Macy’s parade, watching movies, drinking Miller Lite (heh), playing pool, watching Tom and Michael work on some household projects, uhh… that about sums it up.  Oh, and maybe going down to the Plaza for the big Christmas lighting!  Hopefully no shopping though.  I don’t want to be in a store on Black Friday.

Well this has been cathartic… I’ve realized that my writing/work frustrations, at least on this day, are nothing more than a girl who is longing for a family holiday. lol  See, stream-of-conscious writing is useful after all (but not for selling products!).

May you, whoever and wherever you are, having a happy Thanksgiving.  I am coming to think of Thanksgiving as a holiday that is just as spiritual as Christmas and Hanukkah (if not more… since the retail establishment has yet to totally ransack the fourth Thursday in November.  They can have the fourth Friday — bah humbug).  The starting point for all spirituality, from my humble point of view, is realizing that everything we have is a gift… and basking in that gratitude.  If we can celebrate rather than expect things in life, well then even the most simple thing is a cause for real joy.

(Also, who doesn’t like a holiday that has to do with pilgrims, Indians and the early colonial era? : )

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

Here is the history of this great holiday from David Barton, of Wallbuilders.

The tradition of Thanksgiving as a time to focus on God and thank Him for His blessings dates back almost four centuries in America. Colonists held Thanksgiving services in Texas in 1541, in Florida in 1565, and in Virginia in 1607 and 1619, but it is from the Pilgrims that we derive the current tradition of a Thanksgiving that includes prayers to God, a meal with friends, and a time of athletic competition.

The Pilgrims arrived in America in December 1620 and experienced a harsh winter of extreme hunger and starvation in which half of them died. The following summer, the Pilgrims reaped a bountiful harvest. As Pilgrim Edward Winslow (who later became their governor) affirmed, “God be praised, we had a good increase of corn. . . . [and] by the goodness of God, we are far from want.”

The grateful Pilgrims therefore declared a three-day feast in December 1621 to thank God and to celebrate with their friends. Ninety Wampanoag Indians joined the fifty Pilgrims for three days of food (which included shellfish, lobsters, turkey, corn bread, berries, deer, and other foods), of athletic games (the young Pilgrim and Wampanoag men engaged in races, wrestling matches, and other athletic events), and of prayer. This celebration – America’s first Thanksgiving Festival – was the origin of the holiday that Americans now celebrate each November.The first national Thanksgiving was proclaimed in 1789 by President George Washington, but after Washington, national Thanksgiving proclamations were sporadic; most official Thanksgiving observances occurred at the state level. In fact, by 1815, state governments had issued no less than 1,400 official prayer proclamations, almost half of which were for days of thanksgiving and prayer.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book (a popular lady’s books containing poetry, art work, and articles by America’s leading authors) began to lobby for a national Day of Thanksgiving. For nearly three decades, she contacted president after president until Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last Thursday of that November.

Over the next seventy-five years, presidents faithfully followed Lincoln’s precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day, but the date of the celebrations varied widely from proclamation to proclamation. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt celebrated Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November and maintained that date year by year throughout his presidency. In 1941, Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday in November as the national Thanksgiving holiday.

As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year, there are several ways in which you can enhance the celebration of America’s oldest holiday:

You can Review the full HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING at the Walbuilders website.

(Government’s response to Hindraf’s 2007 Rally. Image source: http://www.skthew.com)

25th November 2009 marks the 2nd anniversary of the unprecedented street rally by Indians under the now “banned but not crippled” organisation called Hindraf in this country.

From Wikipedia:-

The 2007 Hindraf rally was a rally held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 25, 2007.

The rally organizer, the Hindu Rights Action Force, had called the protest over alleged discriminatory policies which favour ethnic Malays. The rally was the second such street protest after the 2007 Bersih rally in Kuala Lumpur on November 10, 2007.

The rally started when a crowd estimated to be between 5,000 to 30,000 people gathered outside the Petronas Twin Towers at midnight, early Sunday morning. At least 240 people were detained, but half of them were later released.

Read Hindraf rally related posts:-

Hindraf protest – realistic way out?

Hindraf – not the end of the story

Hindraf – a year end thought

Hindraf – police and road blocks

Hindraf – a thorn that won’t go away

When Hindraf took to the streets in November 2007, certainly it was not done overnight. Hindraf existed long before that and often in thick of actions when it comes to demolishment of temples particularly in the state of Selangor.

Hindraf is a coalition of 30 Hindu non-governmental organizations committed to the preservation of Hindu community rights and heritage in a multiracial Malaysia (source)

Demolishment of temples under the old Selangor MB, Khir Toyo was one of the catalysts for the organisation to take the matter to the streets.

The case against Hindraf

Although the rally itself was tainted with accusations of being highly racist (that it only takes care of Indians and not Malaysians in general), that Hindraf is trying to seek help from a foreign sovereign instead of the Malaysian King who in fact is our real sovereign (which many called it as treason on the highest order) and some of the demands in the full list of demands was worded too extreme and unreasonable.

The police at one point even painted that there was a connection between Hindraf and the Tamil Elam Tigers who were fighting for separate state in Sri Lanka but it was a case that was never proven to this day.

Hindraf vs MIC

One of the biggest implications of the Hindraf’s rally, in my opinion, was that it created a room for many Indians to start questioning the role of MIC when it comes to the welfare of Indians in this country. Long before there was general election and long before MIC realised the lost of Indian support in the ballot box, there was already Hindraf movement all over the country participating in prayers in the many temples and getting involved when there are any issues affecting the community.

Hindraf’s role in getting involved in the community’s issues was a role that I think MIC could have played more effectively but with older issues like the Telekom shares remains unsettled, many have lost confidence in MIC’s ability to continue to champion the plight of the community. Hindraf provided the alternative avenue. What more when there was a lack of coordination and solution provided when it faced with demolishment of temples in Selangor? This is why PKR, DAP and even PAS managed to grab the big swing in Indian voters during the general election.

Makkal Sakthi

Another implication that resulted from Hindraf rally and before that with Bersih and protest against toll hike was the high handedness of the government when it comes to dealing with dissent voices of the people. Instead of friendly dialogue, forum or close knit communication, the response was often come in form of arrests, tear gas, water cannon and arrogant discard of issues. The Hindraf leaders were promptly arrested under the ISA and spent almost 2 years in custody. There was a clear lack of engagement between the government with the people and the problems facing all Malaysians.

The cry “Makkal Sakthi” (or People’s Power) became famous battle cry during the last general election and it has impact on all walk of life (not limiting to Indians under Hindraf). As V mentioned in the movie V for Vendetta –

“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people”

Next chapter

Admittedly Hindraf is now seen has lost their core objective, mainly due to several reasons such as some of the states where they were very active such as Perak and Selangor have fallen into the opposition hands, there has been more swing towards Indian welfare and focus on the problems faced by the community by the government under Najib’s administration and more importantly, due to breakup of Hindraf itself into many small factions including one who formed their own political party.

Hindraf’s rally for right or wrong, did achieve one thing that it was meant to do – that is to create awareness, both for the government and for the Indians who been ignorant of the issues facing the community.

Thankfully things are better under the Pakatan Rakyat’s administration (except perhaps on the Kampung Buah Pala incident) and to some extent, under Najib’s administration.

It is hoped that the government irregardless it is from BN or PR, to engage the issues with more conviction and effective rather than silencing them in swift harsh actions. Otherwise, Malaysians will be far from being one as Bangsa Malaysia and street rallies like the one organised by Hindraf will be part of our daily life.