Happy Thanksgiving

In keeping with my endless bah humbug, I am not a fan of Thanksgiving. It is not that I have nothing for which to give thanks, far from it. I have a wonderful loving family, a lovely home, and enough of a girth to see me through any future lean times. It’s just that Thanksgiving, like Halloween and New Year’s Eve, seems so contrived.

This idea of recurring festivals is not a bad one. People should celebrate – and celebrate frequently. But it is a mandated joy. Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without a turkey or some pumpkin pie. Halloween is nothing without stuffing your face with chocolate. New Year’s Eve has to be celebrated in style… As I said, bah humbug.

Not for Ottawacker Jr. though, even if I did sense a whiff of unwillingness to make plans for Halloween. He has gone in for Thanksgiving full on. While I was cooking the obligatory turkey (just thighs though – despite the CBC’s claim that the average Thanksgiving dinner would cost more than $200, ours came in a $25 for two meals), he was getting out the good crockery, demanding a table cloth, and getting dressed up. He even made Mrs. Ottawacker do the same. Only I demurred, and that was because I was cooking right up until dinner time.

It was a pleasant day; the sun shone and we were all in a good mood. Not even Liverpool’s most recent capitulation could spoil it. That, too, is enough to give thanks for.