Contrary to an impression we may have left in our
previous blogs, we DID spend a bit of Thanksgiving actually giving thanks, although to whom, or Whom, or what (or even What), is still under review. And, to our credit, even an entire day later, we're
still giving thanks for the things for which we gave thanks on Thanksgiving.
Because we're Jewish, the first thing we're thankful for is our good health and our loved ones' good health. Modern health care, as everyone knows, is enough to make you sick, and we're grateful to be able to deal with it more on TV's "House" than in our own. We are mindful of the old Jewish proverb that goes, "Treasure your good health, for that is what makes you able to get out of bed in the morning and complain about everything else." Actually, it's not really Jewish, or a proverb. But it is old.
We're also thankful for our loved ones themselves, most of whom we actually love. This list includes our parents, Ellis's children, and our respective siblings. Beyond that, it includes everyone it should include. They know who they are ? which is more than you can say about some people.
After that, we're very grateful to be able to make enough money, doing what we love, to provide food, clothing, and shelter, not only for ourselves, but for the fine men and women of New York University, where Ellis's son, a student, functions as a conduit between our checking account and theirs. It is estimated that, by the year 2025, the average cost of a private university education in the U.S. will be ridiculous. (The average cost of a public university education will simply be absurd.) We're thankful that both our kids will be out of school by then, and that even if they're not, we won't be around much longer to have to deal with it.
We are thankful for our wonderful friends. It is always a pleasure to join them in their homes for drinks, dinner, or simply an informal get-together, especially when we've been invited.
We are thankful for Nature. Living in Los Angeles, we are the lucky beneficiaries of an ecosystem in which roses remain in bloom every day of the year, cilantro costs twenty-five cents a bunch (if you know where to buy it), and the faint, percussive whir of hummingbirds' wings can be heard, each morning, in spirited competition with the "sound track" of mankind's air conditioners, leaf blowers, police helicopters, traffic accidents, and jet takeoffs, the entire symphonic whole blending occasionally with the natural world's own music of the dog barking at Christ knows what.
We are thankful for the blessings of civilization, including but not limited to the Internet, the digital video recorder, vodka (and, in some cases, tonic), the publishing industry, the candied cashew industry, the Brazilian music industry, the marinated mushroom industry, and dogs.
Finally, on a more personal and heartfelt note, we are thankful to the Republicans for so completely crossing over to The Dark Side, for evolving from a party of corruption and greed into a parody of a party of corruption and greed, to where even people they had successfully terrified, hypnotized, or deceived, were able to appreciate them for what they are, and vote Democratic.
Sentimental nonsense? Perhaps. But it's the nature of this week's celebration. Sue us, but we were ? and still are! ? feeling magnanimous. It remains only for us to wish our readers a (retroactively) happy Thanksgiving, and to remind all of you that Christmas and Chanukah are fast approaching. We're grateful for that, too, for then will come that time when millions of Americans, Christian and Jew alike, may join hands, exchange sincere wishes of respect and good fortune, and declare as one, "You know, Ellis and Barbara's books do make excellent gifts."
What can one say, except, "Hey ? thanks!"