2024-11-27-posts.md 8.8 KB
title: Thanksgiving slug: thanksgiving description: Today I learned what I'm thankful for. <!--- authors:
- name: David Windham title: Something Else url: https://davidawindham.com image_url: https://davidawindham.com/til/img/thankgiving.jpg --> tags: [code, dev] image: https://davidawindham.com/til/img/thankgiving.jpg hide_table_of_contents: true ---
The ubiquitous turkey that represents this holiday reminds me of the childhood drawings of the five fingered turkeys so I whipped one up while I was on the tablet which was tougher than I imagine especially because I couldn’t trace my hand while touching the screen.
At this point I’m almost completely removed from whatever the history is, so I like to look it up as a reminder. I think the cornucopia of a harvest is most appropriate even though in 1536, some puritans wanted to replace some of the religious holidays the Church of England in 1536 [^1] . English settlers gathered to celebrate it in 1619 and the Native Americans accompanied them fifteen years later up in Plymouth. Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday and Roosevelt assigned a day. And thus begins the American holiday season.
As is usually this case, I get a bit stressed near the holidays because well… they’re stressful even though I‘m not exactly sure why. It could be we’ve gotta drive around the state and put on my best charm all while dealing with the other folks trying to do the same, some of whom are likely tensed up and rushed a bit. Or It could be that someone else has dictated what I should be doing with my time. Regardless of the accompanying Black Friday and other bullshit in my opinion, I think its core is just being thankful for our blessings. As a little exercise, I decided I’d make a list I could share just like the original celebrants to remind me why it’s called Thanksgiving. And for a little comic relief… let’s be honest, there’s also bunch of stuff I’m not thankful for and I’ll share that list too.
I’m thankful for:
- Iris ( our dog ) - her sweetness, the way she wags her tail when she greets me, how she cuddles up next to me on the couch, gets me out to play, and takes me on adventures.
- Ginny - her kindness and support. I could go on, but I’ll spare you.
- David - I had to add myself because Ginny was watching me write this
- Cotton ( our cat ) - his purrs and softness. his coy attitude. his toughness… the fact that he survived this year along without food for 15 days and came home or the fact that he survived when we ran him over with the car and his guts popped out.
- our health - we’re lucky to be blessed with decent health.
- our family - we’re lucky we have family
- electric mattress pad - go get you one.. dual controls, timers… on cool nights I set the heat level on 7 ( of 12 ) for 2 hours which puts me down like a baby. a couple years back we bought everyone one for Christmas.
- toilets - I’m thankful I can 💩 in a bowl in my house and have it go away
- cozy den and new bedroom since out other is out of commission
- the amount of natural light coming into our house in winter. I think this is something that goes unappreciated but has a significant effect on folks.
- nature - the changing color of the leaves on the trees, lakes, clouds, etc.
- virtues - why? organized expectation of human potential. something to yearn for
- technology - because it’s fun and interesting to see what we’re capable of building. it’s forward looking and it gives me something to do for a living.
- apple pie, ben and jerry’s chocolate fudge ice cream, and Giredelli dark chocolate - also like a ritual of sorts… with a glass of oak milk puts me down like a baby.
- friends to play tennis with. Even though I don’t like some of them, it’s nice to have the reminders of what you do like in people and get some exercise.
- friends to chat with on the phone and text. the kind that know you well enough that they finished judging you long ago and stick around.
- decent neighbors - it’s just so nice and convenient hanging out and talking with our neighbors
- the weather - it’s been really pleasant sans the storm that knocked a tree on our house and I suppose I even like the dark rainy days inside.
- infinite entertainment - the internet, music, films on our big tv
- a little money in the bank and not being poor
- modern conveniences - grocery healthcare vet
- bicycles - which lets me keep up with my dog and roam freely like a pack.
- glasses - so I can fucking see
- science - that’s a good one.
- smart people who do good stuff - we need more of them.
- badass cars in the garage that automatically turn on the heated seats when it’s cold outside which is just brilliant
- climate control - i mean come on… controlling the heat, air, humidity, water temperature and even smell of our house is something
- king sized bed - not sure I could go back to anything smaller now.
- memories - I thankful that I have fond memories of all kinds of things. You should be thankful for yours, it’s not a given.
I’m not thankful for:
- dumb people - without a doubt the first on the list. I could go on at great length here but the word dumb seems to sum up all of the behaviors.
- traffic & lines - there’s just too many people doing the same thing at the same time. and as much as I try to avoid, it’s inevitable.
- misinformation - although this might seem to be related to the first on this list, I also think that unfortunately, it’s a whole new genre of state sponsored and corporate mis-communications
- greed - just stop already. there will never be enough. you need to find something else to make you happy that doesn’t hurt so many other people.
- my dumbass HOA - please start saving some money so I don’t have to pay for my elderly neighbors juvenile obsession with pickleball or drinking at trivia night and so we can actually maintain and improve our infrastructure.
- assholes - why are you so fucking angry? it’s not going to make people like you. is it the constant flow of information you can’t handle or the fact that you need your opinion to stand out?
- politics - cheesus ( or Cheese and Rice that’s what I make the kids on my tennis teams say instead of Jesus ) can we stop with all the bullshit.
- dwindling resources - depressing at best, but let’s face the facts.
- junk mail - more than half of what come into our mailbox is junk. I’m not too hip on paying to subsidize junk advertising.
- speeding delivery trucks - please don’t kill anyone’s kid or a pet… amazon packages arrive fast enough. they can wait another day if you don’t get em out out.
- obnoxiously loud vehicles - we see you. your tough and fast… even golf carts - get the electric ones to cruise the hood.
- eyesight issues - or maybe the blinding LED lights. Driving at night in the rain is starting to border on dangerous. At least I’ve started toting a pair of glasses into the store to see the expiration dates instead of the magnifiying trick with the phone or asking the nearest person.
- having to pee all the time - it’s fucking 4am, come on bladder, let me sleep.
- bad weather - hole in our roof, the fallen trees, and where the heavy equipment damaged our yard removing them
- work emails without appropriate subject lines - it doesn’t take but another second to just add an appropriate subject so I can find it four month later when you’re referencing it in a meeting.
- the tendency for folks to compete instead of collaborate - not sure exactly when this started, but I’m pretty sure the long term outcome will not be good.
- tragedy - you don’t want it.
- sickness, addiction, & mental health problems - although I think it’s a lot more common than not, you also don’t want it or want to know someone with it.
- poverty - we’ve got a lot of work on this one. drove through an area I grew up around recently in the rain… folks wondering the streets in the rain. somethings not right.
- tiktok & temu - the dark underbelly of the information age. folks don’t know what they’re into or how to get out of it.
- endless lists about shit I should buy - around the holidays - 50 Things You didn't Know You Needed trying to capture my limited attention and fulfill others' voids.
So I’d like to wish a big ole Happy Thanksgiving 🦃 to you people out there. Time to pack up the car and hit the road to spread some of my lovely attitude. If I sent this along, I’d be happy to read your unthankful list and cheers to being thankful for whatever it may be.
[^1]: Thanksgiving - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving