The Thanksgiving Icon

Forget the Pilgrims, the Indians, the Mayflower, and Plymouth Rock. Aside from football and Black Friday looming, Thanksgiving is about eating. I can't think of any other American holiday so focused on gustatorial endeavor. Hours on end go into preparation - minutes go into consumption. So, it was with both humor and wry enjoyment when, several years ago, I found the following shopping list at a Shaw's in Manchester, VT. In its iconic enumeration of menu and ingredients, it fully embodies the essence of the holiday. Forget the typos, the calories, and Martha Stewart's missing hand - enjoy it as a symbol of our American tradition and one family's way of celebrating the day. 

Beachcombing

 

Nothing defines 'vacation' to me more than beachcombing - having the time to poke through

 wave tossed detritus - looking for objects of no intrinsic value and immeasurable personal worth.

Sanctuary



My wife and I recently returned from our annual trip to downeast Maine. Every trip is magical, fulfilling, adventurous, and energizing. The 're's are also in evidence - restoring, rejuvenating, refreshing, revitalizing, replenishing, and renewing. I've looked these words up in the dictionary and, as always, find new subtleties and meanings for words I thought I knew.  At least, I know how I feel when I'm there.

As I thought about how I feel there, the word 'sanctuary' came to mind. We've come to think of this area as our sanctuary and it never fails to deliver. I've asked a number of individuals and couples if they too have a sanctuary and have been disappointed to learn that most people don't. I'm not sure why. I can't imagine not having a safe harbor, a special place, nor haven.

A final note on the word sanctuary. Again, I find that the definition in my head doesn't quite match all the definitions in the dictionary. That's OK. What's important is how we feel there and what it means to know what awaits us when we arrive. It helps keep us grounded knowing it's there and only time and distance are in the way.

Lou's and Lloyd's

Why I Write

"Instruction and Amusement are more blended than the world in general is apt to imagine. Uninstructive amusement may be afforded for a moment by a passing jest or a ludicrous anecdote, by which no knowledge is conveyed to the mind of the hearer or the reader, but the man who would amuse others for an hour, either by his writing or his conversation, must tell his hearers or his readers something that they do not know, or suggest to them some new reflexion upon the knowledge they have previously acquired. The more the knowledge bears upon their pursuits, upon their occupations, or upon their interests, the more attractive it will be, and the more entitled to be called useful."

The Penny Magazine - March 31, 1832

Beat The Heat

Segal's Law

" A man with a watch knows what time it is.
    A man with two watches is never sure."