Rant #3,020: Eat to the Beat

  
Happy pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday.
 
II know that some people are really chomping at the bit today, whether they are traveling for the holiday, can just about taste the holiday turkey in their mouths, and/or are salivating at the prospects of the nation’s premiere shopping day, Black Friday, and its lesser copycats, like Cyber Monday.
 
Me, I am really just looking forward to Thanksgiving Day, when we can get together as a family and forget all of out troubles for a few hours.
 
The past couple of weeks have been very difficult for myself and my family. I won’t go into detail but quite honestly, it has been nothing but a nightmare, one seemingly without end.
 
So just for one afternoon, just for a few hours, all that I want to do is to relax and enjoy the holiday feast.
 
Thanksgiving is one of those holidays which is always under attack by those who have absolutely nothing to do with their lives if they don’t get razzled about something.
 
Like Columbus Day, some people get all bent out of shape because they say that what we believe is simply a fable, but the reality of the day is so much worse.
 
They don’t celebrate these holidays, and several states don’t recognize them, or pair them with days honoring “indigenous people” to soften the blow and placate those who turn inside out when these holidays are celebrated by 99.9/10s of our population.
 
They can say and do what they want, but tomorrow is the Thanksgiving holiday, whether they like it or not.
 
It is a day to give thanks and to appreciate the lives we have in the greatest country in the world.
 
It is not a day to deride that lifestyle, it is a day to celebrate it, and to give thanks to those who have allowed us to prosper in this country.
 
It is a day of relaxation, a day of reflection, and a day to have fun.
 
Whoever feels the need to argue with that … well, I could say that I feel sorry for you, but I really don’t.
 
You are fools, plain and simple.
 
Tomorrow, before our big feats, I will do what I have always done on this holiday, beginning it with a bang by watching the original “The March of the Wooden Soldiers” starring the first of the great movie comedy teams, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.
 
The movie is just so special to me, as it brings me back to my childhood and just demonstrates once again that when Hollywood wants to entertain, and not teach and lecture, it can do it as well as any institution we have in this country.
 
And towards the end of the film, when I see the wooden soldier’s head fall off as he walks through the door, I still laugh as hard as I did when I was a child.
 
It is simply a great film, one that cannot be duplicated, even though Hollywood has tried to do so.
 
Watch the original, and watch the uncolored original to get the real feel for the film.
 
I know many of you will watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but it is simply not my bird, if you will.
 
I have watched it numerous times in the past, but I simply cannot get into it at this stage of my life.
 
And if memory serves me correctly, my sister and I actually attended one of these parades with my grandfather, probably around 1961 or 1962, and again, if memory serves me correctly, the occasion did not go well for either of us, and my grandfather said, “Never again,” and it has been just that for these two kids who are now all grown up.
 
Later, we will have the big feast, and I know that it is going to go down oh so good!
 
We will be stuffed to the gills, ready for sleep, but it will certainly be one of the year’s best days.
 
And then on Black Friday, I will be at my local record store for the latest version of Record Store Day, just ready to get some vinyl goodies and add them to my collection.
 
Then, just like that, it will be all over, and I will get back to the insanity of my life as it stands now.
 
But at least I will have some time to breathe before that happens.
 
To everyone, have a great Thanksgiving, and I will speak to you again on Friday.
 
And to the naysayers … let them eat … cake.
 
Gobble Gobble!