courtesy of Chris Britt, The State Journal-Register
This is not my Thanksgiving
Meat cooking in the oven, parents readying themselves for the night’s festivities
My brother in from the academic institution I once attended
A mix of house cleanliness and unease over my mother’s operation tomorrow
But this is not my Thanksgiving
This is a call to attention to counting our blessings
On a day after Mumbai becomes overrun by young terrorists
On a day when over 3.5 million people were affected negatively
By the storms in Rio de Janeiro
On a day when Iraq and Afghani deaths have eclipsed 30,000
Not too casual considering the casualties
Boys in Queens throw their future away for a few shots of Vodka
Young men broadcast their suicides on MySpace
Girls gone missing, unreported, threatened, tortured,
Whose whole family is murdered for all to see
This is not my Thanksgiving
My inheritance: an undesired bailout to companies unwilling to bail us out
From their profit-mongering methods
Their poisoning of our collective consciousness
Homes stripped,
Aimless,
Hopeless
Toxin popularity on the rise
A cycle of oppression over turkey continues
But this is not my Thanksgiving
This is my prayer,
A yell out for a better Earth
Where counting our blessings becomes higher on our priority list
Than our profit count or a body count …
Jose, who sends out his best wishes to the world today, thankful for what he recieves …
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
My favorite Thanksgiving traditions involve my younger brother and cousin eating pernil (pork) from Mom’s awesome cooking, drinking tons of soda, playing NBA 2Ksomething, or Mario Kart, and then sitting in the living room after the adults left and talking shit. Just putrid and haterific shit. Most of it I can’t even remember, but I know most of it wasn’t even called for. Needless to say, my family traditions weren’t traditional.
Living on the Lower East Side in a time when I’d hear random gun shots fired, and darkness rarely evaded us, many of us were just thankful to live to the next day, when Chico was making murals for the deceased every 2 weeks. In many ways, I’m thankful for the difficult times growing up, because it developed my character and made me perceptive and resilient where others may have folded.
I’m thankful for family, wherever they are. As uncanny as my situation may be, we in the younger generation on both sides of my family have definitely taken the initiative to solidify our relationships with each other. I’d like to say it’s because we didn’t want to follow the example of our parents … well that’s the truth actually.
I’m thankful that I’m in the profession I’d like to be in. The opportunity to have an impact on any child academically and socially becomes too hard to pass up, especially in these days and time.
I’m thankful for my support system, especially my lady. Even though she’s got a lot going on, I know she’s someone who I can depend on when times get crazy.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to express myself, really.
What are you thankful for?
Jose, who wants some of that tasty pernil now …
