Please Read These Words

Here we are, about to gather with our loved ones and call upon the spirit of gratitude for all we possess. Here in the USA, we have a shitload. Yes, this is perhaps a crass statement for what I want to be a tribute to the third Thursday of November. You’re thinking, “Another damn treehugger whining about materialism and commercial culture…” Maybe I am. But who knows, if someone gave me an 8-cylinder BMW, I’d probably drive the hell out of it… Maybe promoting sustainable fuels was a silly idea afterall… I’d besurrounded with leather like an infant’s cheek, and the roar of unnecessary horsepower. I’d pop my ipod into the standing-in-the-front-row-of-a-concert stereo system and crank up ACDC’s “Highway to Hell”…Well… Hopefully not…  But it sure is easy to get carried away with all this stuff we’ve got! Today, I want to express some gratitude for what I have, and give some due props to Thanksgiving. I have life! As I type this, I am amazed at how many cells are working together in me, and in the world around us. We don’t know how it all came to be, but we sure are running around doing all kinds of things as a result of ourfinding ourselves here. We’re cooking food, making sweaters, playing racquetball, having sex, watching people have sex, reading stories to our kids, dropping bombs on neighboring countries, and playing French horns. Life is amazing. On most days, appreciating my own consciousness can trump a really lousy mood. Since we rarely stop to examine the veins on leaves, or the patterns of freckles on our faces and in the clouds and the stars in the sky above, it is nice to annually stuff our faces with often despised bloodlines in the name of gratitude. Especially with Christmas beingmarketed to us the day after Halloween, I am relieved to have a holiday that gets people together at the table before the rush to Target and Wallmart. Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is great. I especially love seeing what old rocker will put out a holiday album. Last year, I listened to Billy Idol sing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”… Priceless. These are the timeswhen humanity comes together to celebrate; and I happen to think Thanksgiving hits the nail on the head. Food, family and friends. Even if a few other F-words find their way into the conversation, as relatives make yearly attempts to bury those rusty hatchets, so be it. This holiday season, remember: We’re all trying here, folks. There are many cells that need to stay in order and do their jobs. Let’s go eat some delicious food… Whether made from scratch, made from a box, or made by illegal immigrants at a gourmet market. I believe that no matter how your food gets cooked, the more “thanksgiving” days you have in a year, the more content your seasonal ride. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!