Company Of The Bread

© Francis H. Higgins

Published: February 2006

The meal is ready.
Grandpa sits at the head of the table.
Grandpa's right hand is Grandma,
she also has the seat of that honor.
Grandpa's left hand is Mom and the son he never had.
It is they that are responsible to keep the old man's future safe.
They sit in the seats that befall that honor.

The future sits on before him,
youthful piss and vinegar sit there.
My brothers and myself.

Table politics and chair priorities are learned each year this tradition unfolds.
Grandpa carves, Dad passes the dishes,
Grandma receives the praises,
Mom is the high chief and judge of the manners and conversation.

Grandpa sits at the head of the table, smiling over the events of the day.  
Heritage and memories passed on to be remembered in the future by the future.
This is the old man's feast. 
This is why the old man gives thanks.

I sit at the side of the table,
this is my place,
my home and my way.
Watch and learn is what I am told.
For in the future,
I will sit at the head of the table,
on this,
the most thankful of days.

The table is cleared.
Dishes washed and put away.
Naps come soon,
more stories and memories passed.
This is why,
on this faithful day,
we give thanks and praise the Lord.
Together we stand,
divided we fall.
Family together on this most thankful day.

Best Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is here, so our minds have turned
To what time has taught us, to what we've learned:
We often focus all our thought
On shiny things we've shopped and bought.
We take our pleasure in material things,
Forgetting the pleasure that friendship brings.
If a lot of our stuff just vanished today,
We'd see the foundation of each happy day
Is special relationships, constant and true,
And that's when our thoughts go directly to you.
We wish you a Thanksgiving you'll never forget,
Full of love and joy—your best one yet!

By Joanna Fuchs

Life is good because it means you are alive.

Otherwise you don't even know if it is good or bad. 
I am thankful for the life. I am above the ground yet!

Couldn't agree more, Dr. Ohn!

Happy Turkey Days, genuine American holiday for the family reunion!

Can't believe it has been more than a half century, 50 years passed since I came to this new world and celebrate this American holidays! 

Indeed, many of you would have the memories, memories, memories over this unique holidays, I bet, mostly pleasant ones!

But every Thanksgiving holiday brings one sad memory back to me, losing my buddy who did the fellowship with me but soon after, he tragically ended/terminated his own life on the day before the holidays. He was a typical Mdiwesterner eating only 'steak and potatos', and turkey on the Holidays - he never had a chance to eat Chinese food till he came to Richmond to taste typical greasy American chopsuy- and had such trouble to pronunciate/call me ByungBoong ( he wounded up call me 'boing-boing') so that it gave a momentum for me to use my initial BB instead, as my mentor David Hume suggested and still I use as my first choice. 

Happy Holidays!

BB Lee 

Yestreday, over the Thanksgiving dinner table, one friend from Lyon, France we invited to the dinner to celebrate American-genuine holidays together brought up the 'falsified' story about the first Thanksgiving celebration by Plymouth settler together with local Indian tribes. 

Indeed, I knew vaguely it was not quite correct as the famous paint - I forgot the artist name!- shows but never pursued to verify till lately. Now, there is one long article on New Yorker this week for exactly same story about how different the real fact was and it was rather 'blood stained'. The settlers killed the son of the neighbor American Indian tribe chief who helped them to survive through the first winter and kept his head on the pole for two years, leaving the body rotten!

Such distorted fact is more than enough to change my image on Pilgrim and Thanksgiving holidays completely!!!!

Indeed, I agree they should not sing 'This land is my land' but rather sing 'this land is YOUR land' we took away. I always thought Thanksgiving celebration is the model for the harmony between European settlers and American native Indians!

Happy Holidays!

BB Lee of '63 Class