Happy Thanksgiving

[Cantousent]

I start a thread for every holiday if I'm around for it, and so I wanted to say happy Thanksgiving.

 

Usually, I get a few friendly posts and some antagonistic posts from folks. Some folks talk about the history of relations between Europeans and the native Americans. Some folks talk about the foolishness of religeous conviction. Some folks just don't like holidays. That's all fair enough.

 

...But, if you can put all that aside, I hope you have a great day. I'm a Catholic, so I do thank God for the blessings in my life. On the other hand, I'm also thankful of wise people who have helped me, good fortune in my past, and even blind chance that has given me a life that I can enjoy and share with others.

 

I don't know if you're an American or a Christian. I don't know anything about a lot of you, but I hope that you have a day worthy of thanksgiving, even if it isn't a holiday. VIsit with your family, have a hearty meal, and enjoy the life you have. Maybe God gave it to you. Maybe the Flying Spaghetti Monster gave it to you. Maybe it's just the product of nothing more than Blind Chance.

 

Yeah yeah, I'm just one of those silly Christians. I believe that this is the day that the Lord has made and I intend to rejoice and be glad in it. ...But, whoever or whatever has created your day, I hope you also find joy in it and and share my desire to be glad in it.

[Gorth]

I don't know much about it other than it sucks to be a turkey

 

Happy Thanksgiving over there.

[LadyCrimson]

For me holidays are usually just another day, but this year it's shaping up to be pretty busy. Few friends haven't seen in a while, and the families are no longer in "one" location. In fact, I should be sleeping right now but ... I woke up, and of course now I can't go back to sleep. :/

 

Happy Holiday.

[Guard Dog]

I've got nowhere to be today. A few friends have invited me to their dinners which is nice but I'd just feel like I was intruding. I'm thinking of going to the VFW, there are a lot of members are getting together for dinner over there.

 

Wherever you go I hope everyone enjoys it and has a happy one!

[BruceVC]

Nice post Cant

 

Happy holiday to everyone celebrating, for us its just another work day.

[Rosbjerg]

Happy Thanksgiving guys! Hope you enjoy the day where ever you are.

[AGX-17]

*Cynical antagonism about commercialized celebrations of false promises and broken treaties*

 

On a less jocular note, Thanksgiving is not a Christian/religious holiday. I'm pretty sure you guys have a couple other holidays for that. History lesson, bleep bloop.

 

I'm not taking issue with who or what you thank, but I think that needs to be kept in mind. Historical accuracy.

 

Thank your thanks, I'll thank my thanks. Debts are paid, family is gathered, blood is spilled, that's all that really matters in the end, right? Have a happy thanksgiving.

Edited November 23, 2012 by AGX-17

[Hurlshort]

While Thanksgiving (and really Christmas as well) are great because they can be fairly all-inclusive holidays and don't have to get too preachy, I'm pretty sure the Pilgrims and Puritans who brought the tradition over from England would argue with you over whether it is a religious holiday or not.

[Felithvian]

Yeah yeah, I'm just one of those silly Christians. I believe that this is the day that the Lord has made and I intend to rejoice and be glad in it. ...But, whoever or whatever has created your day, I hope you also find joy in it and and share my desire to be glad in it.

 

A true Christian would never joke about his Faith. You make fun of yourself just because you're afraid of the community.

 

That's like trying to save your own ass right before being martyred. Anyway, as you, I celebrated this "Holiday" while I was living in the States, and I highly regret it. So instead of "Happy Thanksgiving", I'm gonna leave you with a "May the Father, God of the Armies, The Son, our King & the Holy Spirit be upon you".

[BruceVC]

Yeah yeah, I'm just one of those silly Christians. I believe that this is the day that the Lord has made and I intend to rejoice and be glad in it. ...But, whoever or whatever has created your day, I hope you also find joy in it and and share my desire to be glad in it.

 

A true Christian would never joke about his Faith. You make fun of yourself just because you're afraid of the community.

 

 

 

I find your comment both condescending and patronizing . I don't think Cant is scared of the communities opinion at all. He is a highly respected member on these forums and I doubt he needs to mince his words to get people to like him. He is just making a point a certain way, and in my opinion its resonates with people more than an insult from you.

Edited November 23, 2012 by BruceVC

[Guard Dog]

I second what Bruce posted. Don't insult Cant by labeling his humility and self deprecating humor as shame. It's not. Far from it. Suggesting he is afraid of anyone on this board is just laughable on it's face.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Guard Dog

[Krookie]

ate too much. drank too much. slept just enough. happy thanksgiving, guys.

[Cantousent]

Had a great dinner with the in-laws. Probably the best Thanksgiving I've had in years, and Thanksgiving is usually a happy experience, so that's great.

 

I don't really mind the critical posts, and I mean that sincerely. I've had much more hostile posts in previous holiday threads I've created, and I always create them if I'm around.

 

I will only take issue with one idea, and that's that I'm afraid of the community. I don't take issue with the idea that I'm cowardly. Sometimes I am. ...But I'm not scared of the people here because, by and large, I trust them. Just about everybody who comes here regularly, in fact. While I don't feel defensive about myself, I can be a bit defensive about the community.

 

The point of poking fun at my Christianity is that I want to be inclusive even of people who are hostile to it. It's probably not productive to respond angrily to criticism regarding my faith from either erudite historians or other Christians, and so I won't. I'll just say that I'm going to be willing to poke a little fun at myself because I think it's good for me, and that's really the point. It was never my Christianity that was silly. It was always my person, and my faith tells me that.

 

Anyhow, I will say that I'm going to try to find new ways to be as inclusive as possible in these holiday threads and I'm going to create them whenever I'm 'in town.'

[HoonDing]

I wish I had a Thanksgiving.

[Hurlshort]

I wish I had a Thanksgiving.

 

You'd be welcome at my table and I'm guessing a few others here, but I realize that is a pretty long ways to go for a turkey.

 

I don't know what your living situation is, but could you make an attempt at cooking a turkey (which is tougher than it sounds!) and invite a few friends and family over?

[Tigranes]

I discovered that the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade starts right outside my house, takes two hours to leave the street, and also has a penchant for playing the Star Wars theme at random moments.

 

I played football, did some work, etc. No family and no turkey, but all is still well.

[Enoch]

Things went well, overall. A few dishes were less successful than I had hoped. The sweet potato pie was overpowered by vanilla flavor (I suspect a recipe typo here). The brussels sprouts came out kinda dry. I was cooking in somebody else's kitchen and forgot to bring my own butter, which led to the mashed potatoes being a little "off" (they're a margarine household, but I found 2/3rds of a stick of unsalted butter in the fridge; unfortunately, I realized after I added it to the mash that it had gone a bit sour).

 

But the turkey came out great, the gravy was lovely (basting the bird with white wine and roasting some aromatics in the bottom of the pan brings a world of flavor), the fruit pies were delicious, and the lamb was a big hit. (I had decided to add a supplementary protien to go along with the turkey. Ham is most traditional in this role, but I floated a few possibilities in the planning email, and lamb was the one that was best-received. So I splurged and bought a few racks of lamb, made a persillade breading, roasted them hot and fast, and cut them into chops.)

 

Also, got the good news that Mom has been released from the hospital (after a hip replacement on Monday) and moved to a rehab facility much closer to home.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Enoch

[BruceVC]

Things went well, overall. A few dishes were less successful than I had hoped. The sweet potato pie was overpowered by vanilla flavor (I suspect a recipe typo here). The brussels sprouts came out kinda dry. I was cooking in somebody else's kitchen and forgot to bring my own butter, which led to the mashed potatoes being a little "off" (they're a margarine household, but I found 2/3rds of a stick of unsalted butter in the fridge; unfortunately, I realized after I added it to the mash that it had gone a bit sour).

 

But the turkey came out great, the gravy was lovely (basting the bird with white wine and roasting some aromatics in the bottom of the pan brings a world of flavor), the fruit pies were delicious, and the lamb was a big hit. (I had decided to add a supplementary protien to go along with the turkey. Ham is most traditional in this role, but I floated a few possibilities in the planning email, and lamb was the one that was best-received. So I splurged and bought a few racks of lamb, made a persillade breading, roasted them hot and fast, and cut them into chops.)

 

Also, got the good news that Mom has been released from the hospital (after a hip replacement on Monday) and moved to a rehab facility much closer to home.

 

Nice one, it sounds like it was a successful Thanksgiving overall