Thanksgiving Thoughts – 2012 by Lauren Arnold

Thanksgiving gathers us to her table and asks us to think about the meaning of the word and to reflect together about our challenge to rise above ourselves – above the false conflicts that dominate our landscape.  Thanksgiving comes at an appropriate time this year.  We’ve suffered the effects of a harsh and polarizing presidential campaign that has made our conversations tense with ideological differences. Thanksgiving comes to us at the outset of a cease fire; it tests the real intentions of global leaders to make peace in Palestine and preserve Israel’s sovereignty. Thanksgiving comes to us as we face yet again– another financial catastrophe – the threat of a cliff dive. And Thanksgiving comes to us as we face our own internal dramas – our private challenges to live as a human on this Earth.

The headlines call us to panic and commentators fill our ears with the noise of their exaggerated dramas.  Just for this evening, let us put that aside and embrace Thanksgiving – not an event, but rather an attitude, a way of living.

I am in a state of thanksgiving – abundant gratitude and contentment when I think of all of us sitting around tables set with the comfort of family and friendship, laced with the dedication we have for each other –  authentic and constant. I am in a state of thanksgiving when I reflect on the generosity of each of our friends and family who fill our lives and expand our ever widening circles of continuing love. Looking ahead I feel hope for our world and for the people we call friends and family. We can be optimistic, even with the doomsayers screaming discord – for history instructs us that cycles of highs and lows are constant and things have a tendency to turn out all right.

Water Isaacson, Ben Franklin’s biographer shares this story about Thanksgiving: “Franklin’s optimism about the American experiment is reflected in an essay he wrote about our first Thanksgiving. The early settlers, “their minds gloomy and discontented, “frequently fasted to seek relief from their distress, he recounted. Just when they were about to declare another day of fasting, “a farmer of plain sense” pointed out that “the inconveniences they suffered, and concerning which they had so often wearied heaven with their complaints, were not so great.” Instead of another fast, the farmer argued, they should have a feast to give thanks. Writing a century later — in 1785, a period when both the economy and political system looked fragile, rather like the present — Franklin assured his fellow citizens that thanksgiving was still warranted. “Let us take a cool view of the general state of our affairs and perhaps the prospect will appear less gloomy than has been imagined,” Franklin wrote.

And so today – Thanksgiving is still warranted. This American holiday reminds us that the beauty of America is its founding principles – one of which is tolerance for opposing views – the very strands that braid our national character and clothe our country. One strand blue, the other red, the third a mix that holds the weaving in place. Our cloth is colored with liberty- loving individualists and civic minded citizens of all shapes and sizes.

Our cloth is real and we must carefully maintain it – for it is both strong and fragile, as precious cloths are. The freedoms we constructed and the liberties we protect allow us the right of expression and movement. Without these we are captives to other’s agendas. These are blessings to be grateful for each and every day.

This is our frame – a multi-generational quilt colored with opposing strands, stitched with the golden threads of commitment. Today at our tables, let us be in thanksgiving for our friends and family, to celebrate our blessings and to commit to ensuring our quilt is protected – our family’s and our nation’s.

Let us be in a constant state of thanksgiving, for our blessings are many and our world abundant.

Technology heightens and deadens communication at the same time.  The Internet beckons, e-mail, voice mail, texting, all feed our urge to connect.  But those same things coupled with TV are what keep us apart, separate from human interaction, where tone of voice, facial expressions, and touch connect us.  When electricity dies, so do the false relationships on Facebook and Twitter.  The keyboard can’t keep you warm; the remote doesn’t provide sustenance.  In survival mode we need people, real people to help.  A tribe of sorts.

So, how do we blend our “screen” relationships with the human element?  Maybe Skype gets it right.

Comments on the book were great, ranging from tears, to fun with the lyrics, to emotions revealed through the story that related to events in the readers’ personal lives.  As I answered questions on what inspired me to write the story and what, if any, events were true, the theme of the discussion focused on the beautiful relationships described between Mike and his brothers.

I was asked what research I did on Kevorkian.  Not much, was my answer, as what I knew stemmed only from the HBO special aired a few years ago.  When I kept saying, “I don’t know, I made it up,” about relationships, what happened at Lourdes, a dance, or in Mike’s room, I realized I did my job as a writer, making the story believeable.

But maybe because these women grew up in the neighborhoods of the real schools described in the book, and because some knew of Buddy Miley, who inspired the story, the events became real to them.  (One of the women graduated from Plymouth Whitemarsh, the high school Buddy’s team played the day he was hurt.)  I enjoyed telling how I started with the idea for the book, and how it came to fruition.  What I really enjoyed was hearing first-hand the details in the book that affected a reader’s thinking or emotions.

Thanks, ladies, for your enthusiasm, interest, and support.  And thanks to my sister-in-law, Barbara Stella, the catalyst for the meeting and my best customer.

One of the most important influences on Anne’s writing came from reading Dickens’ Great Expectations. She rereads it time and again to focus her writing. Other books/authors Anne named as motivational for her are, The Postman Always Rings Twice (the beginning), Hawthorne, Stephen King’s Firestarter, Poe, and The Godfather.

Though there was a book signing following the discussion and I had my three favorites with me –The Witching Hour, Lasher, and Taltos (and her new book, of course), the line wound around and was so long we ended up waiting outside the back door of the library. Looking at a two hour wait, we left, hoping to catch up with her at another event.

Because it was Valentine’s Day, Anne was asked, “If you could have a relationship with any of your characters, which would it be?” “Lestat,” she answered without hesitation. “Sometimes I think he’s with me anyway.”

Though I was not able to see more than a few of Oprah’s shows because of my work schedule, I did follow her rise to stardom through osmosis, and, of course, like the rest of America, listened intently when she began her book club.  I attended Ms. Davis’ session more to hear about the writing process … and I never turn down an opportunity to obtain an autographed book.

Deborah was bound by the pact one agrees to when granted entry into Oprah’s world–nothing could be told of her meetings or interactions with the great lady.  But this did not detract from the presentation and, in fact, may have added to it. Learning about the research team, the tight time schedule, how the photos were selected, what the requirements were to write each chapter, and how Deborah had to immerse herself in watching hours and hours of Oprah videos, was entertaining and fascinating. However, the book is not one you just read, you experience it. The cover photo is extraordinary, the paper is rich and textured, and the interviews and photos are (or will be) historical.  Oprah, regardless of what you may think of her, is a revolution.  She may be in a holding pattern right now trying to find her next foothold, but when she finds it, the world will change–again.

Coming into the warm house from 14-degree sunny weather, I had a feeling of accomplishment, of arriving.  But I also had a pang of nostalgia for the comraderie one finds in a workplace … a law firm.  I missed having a cup of coffee with coworkers listening to their tales of holiday fun, or greeting folks in the kitchen and hallways, all of us getting ready for another busy year.  So, I made tea, wrote this blog, and then picked up the phone.  The living room to office connection worked almost as well.

At the time I heard the broadcast, I was Editor of the New York City ALA’s chapter of their Newsletter, New York New York.  On that New Year’s Day in ’04, I wrote the first chapter of what my life would be in 2009 — I would be Editor-in-Chief of Turn the Page Magazine.  In the chapter, I named the people I would be working with, and I wrote the mission of the magazine.   The exercise prompted me to enroll in NYU’s SPCS Publishing Program in the spring of 2004.

Though I have not yet begun working on the magazine, I did found Turn the Page Publishing in the spring of 2009, launching the company in 2011 with the publication of my novel.  Now I have the unbelieveable opportunity to work with budding novelists and writers, working for them and myself, and hopefully spurring others to Turn the Page of their lives.  Onward!

Jacqueline Kennedy, Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy is a CD set and book of Jackie’s recorded interviews shortly after President Kennedy’s assassination. I first saw the book in Bridge Street Books in DC, while visiting my daughter who attends George Washington University (where Jackie graduated). My daughter promised it as a Christmas gift, but my friend at Drinker beat her to the punch.

Honorary plaque on Jackie's dorm at GWU.

Listening first to Caroline’s voice in the Introduction, and then hearing Jackie’s voice, well, for a Kennedy fan like me, it was extraordinary. During the taped interview one hears Schlesinger’s long-winded questions, a clink of ice in a glass, then Jackie’s breathless answers. At times, it was difficult to hear everything on the tape so I referred to the book for clarification. Though I enjoyed hearing the famous voices and felt like I was in the room sitting next to Jackie, I preferred the joy of reading, as I usually do, including the feel of the book in my hands, the beautiful cover, and the sensational, historical photos. Oh, for a brief, shining moment.