Thanksgiving Day!

I find the winter holidays in the US strangely depressing. Thanksgiving and Christmas demand the kind of attention that disturbs my routine quite obnoxiously. I don't want to make huge meals and hang out with people. What a waste of a day.Let's not even talk about all those millions of unsuspecting turkeys callously murdered for the sake of some ridiculous tradition.

Admittedly, it was nice not to have to go to work yesterday (Wednesday) and today. It rained most of yesterday - a nice, steady drizzle quenching our parched grounds. I spent most of the day by the fire rereading Obama's DREAMS FROM MY FATHER. This morning the sun shone brightly and the sky was blue and cloudless. I started the day by reading the blogs on Huffpost I enjoyed Jamie Lee Curtis and Erica Jong expressing what they are thankful for. It helped lift me out of my depression. Paul Krugman's article defending Obama's choice of economic advisers was a good read too. I'm so glad he wrote this. It's so weird that folks on the left are being so critical. As Obama himself pointed out yesterday at a news conference, with the current economic crisis, experienced advisors are necessary. He cannot risk hiring all new people under these extraordinary circumstances.
Last Tuesday I went with some friends to a talk by Maureen Dowd who is a columnist for the NYT. I have mixed feelings about Dowd. I used to enjoy her clever, insightful criticisms of Bush, et al. but during the primaries she turned me off with her constant and consistent cattiness and pettiness toward Hillary Clinton. So I wasn't sure if I would enjoy listening to her. The talk turned out to be quite enjoyable. Maureen Dowd seems very gung ho about Obama. She was part of the press crew who accompanied him on his trip to Europe and Israel in the summer. When someone in the audience asked what she thought of Obama's appointees she expressed support. She thought it was wise to hire people with diverse ideas. She also mentioned that a lot of the people from the Clinton administration that Obama is hiring are the best and brightest who hadn't been able to do the work they hoped to do under Clinton. They now had another opportunity to use their talents. After the talk I decided I liked Maureen Dowd after all!

We spent Thanksgiving with our friends, Premi and Sri. We prepared tofurkey (tofu turkey), roast potatoes, brussels sprouts, and other veggies. Premi prepared roast leg of lamb, shrimp and crab, and a rice dish. Earlier in the day we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went for a walk on the beach. It was fabulous. The air after a good rain is so exhilarating.

And now it's evening and I'm glad for it all to be over. But starting tomorrow I'll have to endure godawful Christmas music and jingling bells and flickering lights and stupid snowmen and Santa decorations. Is there anyone out there who would like to join me in petitioning to abolish this ghastly holiday?