Grateful For My Life, Thankful For All Of You...

Thanksgiving: A Short History

In the United States, Thanksgiving began with the Pilgrims who settled around Plymouth in December of 1620. During the winter of 1620-21 they suffered many privations. Food and supplies were scarce and disease ran rampant in the region. Nearly half the population died.

At the harvest of 1621 there was a feast. However, 1622 the results were fairly poor. The settlers were beginning to starve again. Some historians, and the leaders of the time, agree that there were two reasons for the problems of the Pilgrims. First, they were generally not experienced farmers. (They were fortunate that some of the local Native-Americans helped them learn to farm the local crops.) Second, and perhaps more tellingly, they had originally been organized into a commune where the produce of all was brought into a common store and then distributed among the inhabitants based on need.

The Governor at the time, William Bradford, was quick to recognize the problem. This excerpt from his diary, written in the 1620s, explains all:

The failure of this experiment of communal service, which was tried...by good and honest men proves the emptiness of the theory of Plato and other ancients, applauded by some of later times, - that the taking away of private property, and possession of it in community, by a commonwealth would make a state happy and flourishing...For in this instance, community of property (so far as it went) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment which would have been to the general benefit and comfort.

So every family was assigned a parcel of land according to the proportion of their number...It made all hands very industrious, so that much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been...and gave far better satisfaction.

Thankful for the re-institution of private property and the plenty which it provided, the Pilgrims invited their Indian benefactors in 1623 to a three-day celebration. More than 80 "Indians" came to enjoy the festivities. They brought venison, wild turkey and other victuals. There was much singing, rejoicing and even sermons.

Thanksgiving itself is reminiscent of other harvest-time celebrations in Europe. It's character there as well as in America is deeply religious. The idea is that we thank God for the plenty of the harvest. Of course, over the years the holiday has been secularized somewhat. It is even commonly called "Turkey Day".

The first Thanksgiving in Plymouth was not meant to be an annual event. Even so, it became a custom in many New England Colonies. During the Revolutionary war Thanksgiving Days were proclaimed to celebrate victory in battle or survival in the face of adversity. After the war and the founding of the government under the U.S. Constitution, George Washington, as President, proclaimed a day of thanks.

Proclaiming a day of thanks became popular. There was no official national day, but individual states, cities and towns began to pick out a particular day every year, usually in the autumn. The state of New York was the first to do this in 1830. By the time of the Civil War thanksgiving had become a popular public event. In 1863 and 1864 President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a "day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father."

It was at this point that the last Thursday in November became fixed in the minds of Americans as a day for giving thanks, at least until 1939 when President Roosevelt moved it up a week to make a longer Christmas season for the retail industry. Some people did not like the break with tradition and various localities refused to comply. Finally, Congress intervened and changed the holiday permanently to the "4th Thursday in November". It has been celebrated on this day ever since.

Friday Night Lights Stimulus Plan

Read a great article from Gregg Easterbrook of ESPN.com. Easterbrook writes a weekly lengthy column analyzing the last week of NFL and NCAA football with a comedic slant. This week, he touched on a method I believe our President should seriously examine in order to fix the economy:

"In Season 1, Dillon, which is described as located in West Texas, the sparsely populated part of the state, is depicted as a dying one-stoplight town. Stores are shown boarded up; an ice-cream stand and a strip joint are the town's culture; one character finds a missing visitor and explains, "It was easy, there are only two motels in Dillon." How this dying one-stoplight town could produce enough teens to win the Texas 5A championship was never clear. No matter: by Season 3, Dillon had a McMansion area of elegant rich people's homes, and Dillon High, peeling and crumbling in the first season, suddenly was a gleaming pinnacle of affluence. At the end of Season 3, coach Taylor was exiled to dilapidated East Dillon High, an old facility scheduled for demolition but instead being reopened because of -- the city's population boom! Now in Season 5, Dillon has become a metropolis, growing as fast as an Asian Tiger country.

So forget TARP, stimulus and quantitative easing: What America needs is the "Friday Night Lights" Economic Growth Formula. Which consists of: lots of football and cheerleaders, constant relationship talk and longing glances, constant drinking that never causes hangovers or drunken driving, and most of all, remaining in high school until age 28."

This plan is infinitly better than cap-and-trade, bailouts, or stimulus plans.

The Blue Skittle or the Red One?

So thanks to my awesome fiance' we have "our" very own blog... Cheesy, yeah probably but that's us...and we like it that way!! So, I may say some pretty crazy things on here, BUT if you know me at all well then you would expect nothing less. As many of you know I have written all my life, you can tell by the 13 or so journals that I have in my possession. Or perhaps my endless to do lists I write on a daily basis or letters to people..I still prefer writing them over typing them...(but gotta keep up with the times) And now, I feel blessed to be with someone who shares the same passion I do... Being a nerd and well writing :-) hehe ( oh and Third Eye Blind..wait is that it?? NO! I mean I can't lie, we are polar opposites..in well many ways- however we do share some pretty Big things.. Music (identical taste), Being Late Owls (Bedtime?Sleep?What is that?), Faith/Beliefs-Something we strongly share, it will be the main source that will hold us together always, when all else fails- let's be honest relationships are work... We also like to cook together ( EAT) although in the last few months I have been a vegetarian- yea I know what you're thinking, uh Why? Many reasons, ask me later. Jameson and I also love education ( here is where the nerd part really kicks in besides the love for Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Chik flicks...) Both he and I have trailed through school pretty easily and working with kids is just something we share. But BIGGER we have realized why not be able to teach and do what we love all day?? Right? Art&History..( our passion) We are both really looking forward to having the same schedule, maybe if we are lucky we will even get to teach in the same school...? We have also discovered a new found love for Sushi!! Panda Heaven is our spot! And what I love is the cheap drinks-my favorite is the Giant glass of white Sangria they serve. So lastly, Jameson and I also share a love for traveling- maybe we will be nomads one day wandering the earth teaching English? Ok thats a bit far fetched, I exaggerate, but my point is..we plan on seeing the world! and in the last 2years that we have been together I think we have had a pretty good head start... We have been to Florida, Boston,Georgia, and few other places traveling together and I have the pictures to prove it!! I am obsessed with photography..I have been since I first touched a camera ( I'd say I have around 10-12 albums) And now I am taking photography classes so hopefully I can take even better pictures! Especially action soccer shots since Jameson will be head varsity soccer coach this Fall for Wyo :-) Alright- well tomorrow we embark on another trip for the holidays! Around 16hrs!...yes we will be driving!! But we'll have a good time doing s0- because I, well I will have my stock of candy and my camera by my side and Jameson.. well he will have his Mt.Dew and his Ipod on shuffle :-)

Life is full of adventure- Explore it. T.

Brand New Colony

"I'll be the grapes fermented, bottled and served with the table set, in my finest suit, like a perfect gentleman. I'll be the fire escape that's bolted to the ancient brick where you will sit and contemplate your day. I'll be the waterwings that save you if you start drowning in an open tab when your judgment's on the brink. I'll be the phonograph that plays your favorite albums back as you're lying there drifting off to sleep. I'll be the platform shoes and undo what heredity's done to you, you won't have to strain to look into my eyes. I'll be your winter coat buttoned and zipped straight to the throat with the collar up so you won't catch a cold.

I want to take you far from the cynics in this town and kiss you on the mouth. We'll cut our bodies free from tethers of this scene, start a brand new colony where everything will change. We'll give ourselves new names (identities erased). The sun will heat the grounds under our bare feet in this brand new colony. Everything will change."

Welcome to our brand new colony.

- Jameson and Tara