Thanksgiving

The Week Before…                                                     Advice for Family Gatherings from Joseph                                                                                                                                                                                                

The turkeys seems skittish today.                                Relationships                                                        
Do you think they know​
That Thanksgiving Day                                                 If interaction is to be positive,                                        
Is but a week away?                                                     Don't overwhelm, persuade,
                                                                                   Talk less and listen more,
                                                                                   Empathize, don't antagonize,
Thanksgiving Day...                                                    Whisper, don't shout,
                                                                                   Help rather than harm,
There was once a big Tom turkey                                   Be neither arrogant nor servile,                      
Who lived in a city quite quirky.                                     And tranquil rather than agitated.
On Thanksgiving Day,                                                   You will then be heeded and valued!
He was heard to say:                                                    And who wants more?
I'm so thankful to live here in Berkeley!

                                                                                        What? How? When?
Turkeys in my yard
Blissfully unaware of                                                        What best to think?
Thanksgiving Morning.                                                     What best to say and when?
                                                                                      What best to do, how and when?
Gray Thanksgiving Day                                                    How best to interact?
Large flock of turkeys pecking                                          How best to help and when?
Thankful to be here.                                                         How best to stand aside, why and when?
                                                                                      When best to love?
-MW                                                                               When best to empathize and why?
                                                                                      When best to believe, what and why?
                                                                                      If we could but know beforehand!

                                                                                           It Follows as the Night the Day

                                                                                          Love and you will be loved,
                                                                                          Despise and you will be despised;
                                                                                          Denigrate and you will be denigrated,
                                                                                          Appreciate and you will be appreciated;
                                                                                          Befriend and you will be befriended,
                                                                                          Alienate and you will be alienated;
                                                                                          Abuse and you will be abused,
                                                                                          Respect and you will be respected;
                                                                                          Honor and you will be honored,
                                                                                          Deceive and you will be deceived.

                                                                                          The equation is rarely flawed,
                                                                                          The choice is yours to make!
​

                                                  Thanksgiving, a day of thanks
 
Thanksgiving is the last non-commercialized holiday in the United States. No sooner is Halloween done than the Christmas sweets and trinkets appear in the stores. There may be a small, token display of Thanksgiving decorations and the stores are suddenly flooded with turkeys in the meat section, but that is all. Presumably, this is because people don’t spend much money on this holiday, except on food.  It is a day to spend with family, to eat a meal together, to reminisce. There are no gifts, no costumes to don; the only yard decorations are scarecrows and pumpkins. It is also a secular holiday, professing no particular faith. It is an American holiday. One may argue over eating meat, one may argue about the historical origin of the holiday, but in essence it remains a day when families and friends gather together to share food and fellowship. Just as was, and is still, done in rural areas around the world to celebrate the harvest.
 So too, do the animals gather in groups. The turkey flock has grown larger, up to twenty hens and one or two Toms this year. The deer are traveling in pairs or trios. Even the buck was seen with two does. The three baby squirrels peacefully hunt for acorns together. The other day, I  saw a red-tailed hawk sitting on the wire with three crows. Stomachs full, mating season over, the animals co-exist peacefully. And in their own way, give thanks for the harvest.
So, let us on this Thanksgiving join with our families or share with friends. Let us forget quarrels and instead share conversation, memories, fun anecdotes, enjoy watching the funny antics of our young children or pets, and of course, enjoy our delicious home-cooked Thanksgiving meal.

-MW