Song of the day:
Thankful Thursday
As the song above says, “…the older that I get I see that life is short and bittersweet…", and if that's not a whole lot of truth, I don’t know what is. A friend and I were talking about the climate the other day and how quickly this planet is becoming dangerous to live on. If we continue to go the way we’re going without addressing the climate, or the guns, or the mental health or, or, or…well, we won’t be going for much longer. And so I think it’s even more important right now to find things to be thankful for, even if they seem insignificant. Being thankful is never bad, no matter how big or small the thing. And you certainly don’t want to get to the end of your life without acknowledging all the good there was, all the wonderful people you came in contact with, all the joy that you experienced along the way. So I guess that’s why I do Thankful Thursday every now and then…to remind myself of all there is to be thankful. After the last few weeks of shootings and other killings, it’s absolutely necessary to do so.
So here’s what I’m thankful for today:
The Muwekma Ohlone Tribe whose land I live and work on
Living in a state that has strict gun laws
People who run in first
People who sacrifice everything to save others
Family and friends, both far and near
Long holiday weekends
Broadway musicals
Discovering new music
Sharks hockey, even when it’s bad
Books and the people who write them
Soft sheets and cozy blankets
That Jesus really does have the wheel, not me
The Thanksgiving Myth
“The myth is that friendly Indians, unidentified by tribe, welcome the Pilgrims to America, teach them how to live in this new place, sit down to dinner with them and then disappear. They hand off America to white people so they can create a great nation dedicated to liberty, opportunity and Christianity for the rest of the world to profit. That’s the story—it’s about Native people conceding to colonialism. It’s bloodless and in many ways an extension of the ideology of Manifest Destiny.” (Smithsonian Magazine)
“[David] Silverman’s book, [This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving], focuses on the Wampanoags. When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth in 1620, the sachem (chief) Ousamequin offered the new arrivals an entente, primarily as a way to protect the Wampanoags against their rivals, the Narragansetts. For 50 years, the alliance was tested by colonial land expansion, the spread of disease, and the exploitation of resources on Wampanoag land. Then, tensions ignited into war. Known as King Philip’s War (or the Great Narragansett War), the conflict devastated the Wampanoags and forever shifted the balance of power in favor of European arrivals. Wampanoags today remember the Pilgrims’ entry to their homeland as a day of deep mourning, rather than a moment of giving thanks.”
I encourage you to read this article and interview with David Silverman about the myth of Thanksgiving. It gave me pause and made me think about what exactly it is that we’re celebrating. I choose to put the focus on being thankful and honoring those whose land was stolen, not on celebrating the Pilgrims, who did the stealing. Like many things over the last few years, I’ve learned a lot more about this and always want to share what I’ve learned with those of you who read this little newsletter.
All that said, however you choose to celebrate, I hope you find time today to be thankful and that you enjoy time with family, friends, or just yourself. There’s a lot of power in that last one.
Video of the day:
One more thing I’m thankful for is my amazingly talented friend Jerod who wrote and arranged this wonderful piece. That’s also him playing the piano. In another life he accompanied me during the Laramie Junior Miss pageant and played alongside me in marching and jazz band. Now he does this. Extremely thankful for him.
Good thoughts. Hope your Thanksgiving is relaxing today. We’re staying in most of the day but I may walk around the park in the early afternoon. 45 degrees today.
Got the shots yesterday and now sore more than the other ones.