What did you do for Thanksgiving?
It is my favorite holiday because Thanksgiving celebrates thankfulness and does it without commercialization, unlike what Christmas has become. It is a cliché that we live in a divided country. How wonderful that we have a holiday in this country that emphasizes counting our blessings and sharing with those we love as well as those in need.
OK, so maybe we don’t love Uncle Fred as much as we could. But we invite him to the big dinner and avoid debating with him when he begins to weave his conspiracy theories. I kind of like the one where government-instigated COVID-19 vaccines inject tiny microchips into us. If true in any way, I’m hoping it will improve Wi-Fi in our house. Lately, it has been weak and of course the cable company denies any responsibility for the poor service. “We have no reports of problems in your area.”
A couple of years ago, I reached a point where I could no longer host and cook a dinner for eight people., especially a Thanksgiving dinner with all those sides. So many details and guests have so many needs despite the dinner being a semi-potluck. Asking guests to bring their own knives, forks, plates, sugar, ice cubes, etcetera, just didn’t work. It was like going camping. People revolted so we have tried a couple of turkey dinners at restaurants. It really worked out this year. The food was delicious and the service excellent.
A drawback is that you don’t end up with much turkey or stuffing as leftovers. You get a little box to take home as a snack. So I bought a turkey to cook at home, and after our restaurant dinner I carved and distributed it to family and friends. I was forced to purchase it a few days sooner than I would have preferred since the butcher told me that those turkeys wouldn’t be around a few days before Thanksgiving. You’ve probably heard that supplies were down this year due to avian flu and other factors. The price I paid was good, but I had to buy a larger bird and purchase it earlier.
But what a nice celebration. We had also stocked up on pies and my dear wife made pumpkin empanadas after years of promising us that she would. They were worth the wait. Also, a good friend keeps us supplied with whipped cream in a squirt can. Any sweet that comes out of the refrigerator is baptized, no, smothered in whipped cream. This behavior requires an extra walk around the block.
And what went on in the community? Brawley Feed the Need prepared over 1,000 Thanksgiving meals for residents in the North End. This effort was also assisted by Vo Medical Center and Christ Community Church. While I can only encourage supporting such holiday food and gift efforts, I’d like to remind readers that food needs exist throughout the year. The Imperial Valley Food Bank works to meet food needs of county residents over twelve months. Even during August, people go hungry in this great food producing county. And there are many more nonprofits that reach out to assist people. People are generous.
How do we know this? There is a World Giving Index, an annual report published by the Charities Aid Foundation. Three charitable behaviors go into these rankings: donating money, volunteering time, and helping strangers. This last category is the one most commonly engaged in. In 2020, the COVID pandemic saw many countries’ charitable giving decline. This was largely due to the pandemic’s reducing charitable opportunities.
Over the period, 2009-2018 the United States ranked first in charitable giving, followed by Myanmar (influenced by Theravada Buddhism), New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland. It makes sense that the wealthiest country in the world, the U.S., should be in the forefront of charitable giving.
Enjoy the holidays. Try to think of ways in which we can assist those who’d appreciate a holiday meal or a case of water in August.