How else to celebrate this holiday than a walk in a cemetery? That's what I did. After a leisurely morning of coffee and reading, I took a walk to work off the calories from the slices of nut and poppyseed rolls my mom had sent. (They tasted great with hot coffee).
Naturally, I overdressed for the walk and ended up carrying my pullover "R" jacket (from my sister, Amy -whose birthday is today) for much of the walk. Thankfully, I had a sweatshirt on (or perhaps that's why I got too sweaty). Anyways, the weather was very mild, with very pleasant temperatures (no jacket required) and a fair amount of clouds.
One of the nice aspects of cell phones is being able to walk and talk long distance at the same time. I had a nice chat with my Mom (in Ohio) while I walked.
I hadn't been to my local cemetery since Memorial Day. In addition to chatting with my mom, I also said a rosary (but not at the same time) as I strolled around the various sections of the cemetery.
Ironically, shortly after I arrived at the cemetery, I noticed a headstone with an unusual graphic which turned out to be the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. As you may recall, the Pilgrims sailed in 1621 on the ship Mayflower from England to Plymouth (located in present day Massachusetts) seeking religious freedom. The celebration of their first Thanksgiving was an inspiration for what came be a national holiday in the USA.
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| Engraving on tombstone. Compare to logo below. |
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| Logo for General Society of Mayflower Descendants. |
Earlier this morning, I read several essays on the history of Thanksgiving. One piece that I read was President George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation (1789), the first national celebration of Thanksgiving. In today's secular age, it is stunning to see reference to Almighty God, the great and glorious Being, Beneficent author of all the good, etc. and of the "duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor...."
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| Sundial on gravestone. "Tempus Fugit" is Latin for "time flies" |
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| Celtic cross |
After walking for two (2) hours, I had worked up an appetite to justify eating a turkey feast. Being alone and not practical to cook a turkey ans fixings for one, I purchased my feast from our local Boston Market restaurant. Although it was open on Thanksgiving, I purchased it the afternoon before so as not to encourage being open on a holiday. I merely reheated via the modern miracle of the microwave oven.
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| My dinner plate. |
I had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, and creamed spinach. I washed it down with a glass of wine (Toasted Head 2014 Chardonay-California). I forgot to make the corn.
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| Dessert |
With all those calories, I did not want to spend the rest of the evening sitting around the house. So it was out for another walk. As I walked in the dark, I received several text messages from a few of my siblings. These were mass distribution texts rather than a personal text to me. In light of the solemnity of the day it seemed sacrilegious to communicate so impersonally. So I (attempted) replied with my own text to sarcastically suggest that they include Christmas greetings so they don't have to bother texting again in a month! (I'm sure that didn't go over well if I transmitted it correctly. I don't really know how to send mass texts-because it is such a grossly impersonal way to communicate).
Although it was chilly during my evening stroll, the weather was mild. I reflected on how calm things were today as compared to last year. I wonder what happened to the woman who crashed into the pole? I hope she is okay and had a better Thanksgiving this year.
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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2015/05/planting-flags.html
https://www.themayflowersociety.org
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/GW/gw004.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundial
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempus_fugit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_cross
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dessert
http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2014/11/thanksgivingcrash.html
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Written Thursday 24 December 2015 (at least I finally got it done).
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