A Place for Thanksgiving II

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It is a family time for us. When I think back over 42 years, I can remember only a couple of years when family didn’t surround us.  On Thanksgiving 1989, Caroline came to see us for the first time.  Thanksgiving is a very special day.

Caroline and Mom approximately a week
 following Thanksgiving 1989

When I stop to give thanks for the many blessings around me, I am overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.  If I were to pull out an imaginary scale to weigh the many blessings, I would have trouble knowing where to begin: Health? Family? Rett? Freedom? Cognition? Sensory perception? Possessions? Job?  The scale would be tipped toward abundance!

Thanksgiving is a time for reflection and a time to imprint new memories on the mind.

As a young boy, I remember at least a couple of Thanksgivings spent at my Papaw and Granny Woliver’s house.  As an extended family, the Wolivers rarely convened, but occasionally we would gather at their small “shack” on their twenty-acre property in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains.  My brother Kim (Adam was not yet born) and I remember playing with my first cousins:  Sharon, Freddie, Paula, Cathy, and Frankie.  On a crisp autumn day, we would run around the property exploring the barnyard, private cemetery, and pastures; but the place of most fun was a huge downed chestnut tree that had fallen during the 1940s due to a blight that ravaged the Tennessee woods.  We climbed all over the chestnut tree and in our imaginations it became a fort, a pirate ship, a fire engine, or a space ship.

As a teenager, Thanksgiving was spent at my Mother and Dad’s home where they would host a family gathering that often included: my brothers Kim and Adam, Papaw and Granny Woliver, and Aunt Billie and Uncle Bub.  My Dad was proud of a long dining table around which we all could sit and Mother would fill it with “good country cookin’”.  Following the meal, we boys would take our shotguns and head for the backfield and woods to see what we might find.

Now at Merry Mount we revel in hosting a family affair on Thanksgiving.

At the center of the Thanksgiving festivities is Rett’s meal that traditionally includes turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, and an assortment of pies.  But the must have is Rett’s cornbread dressing.

Another tradition is the Woliver “turkey shoot” contest.  Anyone who wants to participate may shoot a shotgun at a target (a photo of a turkey) to see who can get the most shotgun pellets within the boundaries of the target.

One may ask about Thanksgiving attire?  Hey, it takes place at Merry Mount, so one wears whatever one wishes.  But sometime during the early 1990s, the wearing of the “bird shirt” became a tradition.

Thanksgiving

Gettin’ together to smile an’ rejoice, 

An’ eatin’ an’ laughin’ with folks of your choice; 

An’ kissin’ the girls an’ declarin’ that they 

Are growin’ more beautiful day after day;

Chattin’ an’ braggin’ a bit with the men, 

Buildin’ the old family circle again; 

Livin’ the wholesome an’ old-fashioned cheer, 

Just for awhile at the end of the year.

Greetings fly fast as we crowd through the door 

And under the old roof we gather once more 

Just as we did when the youngsters were small; 

Mother’s a little bit grayer, that’s all. 

Father’s a little bit older, but still 

Ready to romp an’ to laugh with a will. 

Here we are back at the table again 

Tellin’ our stories as women an’ men. 

Bowed are our heads for a moment in prayer; 

Oh, but we’re grateful an’ glad to be there. 

Home from the east land an’ home from the west, 

Home with the folks that are dearest an’ best. 

Out of the sham of the cities afar 

We’ve come for a time to be just what we are. 

Here we can talk of ourselves an’ be frank, 

Forgettin’ position an’ station an’ rank. 

Give me the end of the year an’ its fun 

When most of the plannin’ an’ toilin’ is done; 

Bring all the wanderers home to the nest, 

Let me sit down with the ones I love best, 

Hear the old voices still ringin’ with song, 

See the old faces unblemished by wrong, 

See the old table with all of its chairs 

An’ I’ll put soul in my Thanksgivin’ prayers.

   -Edgar Guest

   I am especially thankful today for Adam, Dalene, and Sharon.  They have been caregivers in Knoxville for my parents.  To have a brother like Adam to trust is the greatest of blessings!

There is much to be thankful for at Merry Mount and we wish all who read this blog today a very Happy Thanksgiving!

CPW

A “Special Place in Hell”

photo attributed to the patch.com link below

Three news stories caught my attention this week, converged, and resulted in this blog post.

https://patch.com/california/beverlyhills/compare-size-ca-wildfires-city-you-live

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-california-fires-woolsey-hill-camp-california-fire-death-toll-in-paradise-1542421299-htmlstory.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/16/us/catholic-church-sex-abuse.html

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2018/11/15/150-former-ohio-state-students-have-nowgiven.html

In some Christian denominations, parishioners are taught to fear being “cast into an eternal lake of fire”.  Some of those “sinners” continue to listen to their church leaders and even financially support an institution that condones and protects its worst abusers.  When will people wake up, think rationally, use common sense, and stop listening to these hypocrites?  I say that there is a special place in hell for these church leaders and the place is Paradise, CA.

The Board of Trustees and school leadership at OSU has now spent $1.5 M trying to get to the bottom of allegations against just one similar predator who worked for Ohio State from 1978 to 1998. The alleged abuser killed himself in 2005 in Los Angeles.  One may ask why spend this money now?  Hopefully, so that OSU as an institution can publicly state that sexual abuse will not be tolerated in any form and will not be swept into a locked filing cabinet so that the reputation of the institution can be saved from tarnish.

As I sit in a beloved place in central Ohio, condemning any institution that protects sexual predators, may I also have sympathy for those poor souls who have lost loved ones and have lost most everything to fires that may have been sparked due to institutional irresponsibility.

CPW

A Place for Common Sense: Gun Control

At Merry Mount, we practice gun control.  We own guns and we make sure that the guns are under our control.

Gun violence is out of control in the United States.  Mass shootings have become an almost daily occurrence.

I propose a common sense solution to the problem.  Here are the “bullet” points (bad choice of word):

•   Write an amendment to the 2^nd amendment updating it to the 21^st Century
• Stop the manufacture of automatic guns
• Do not attempt to confiscate the many automatic guns owned by private citizens, instead, implement a national gun buy back program that creates an incentive to return automatic guns
• Educate our children (yes, brainwash them) to respect the dignity of every human so that the thought of taking a life becomes repulsive
• Promote peace, not war.

I am not naïve.  The initiative that I posit would not happen overnight.  It would probably take three or more generations.  Let’s examine each point.

•      Write an amendment to the 2^nd amendment updating it to the 21^st Century
 

Amendment II of the United States Constitution reads:

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

I refer you to:

https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2017-08-28/so-about-well-regulated-militia-part-constitution

Considering the present ability of Americans to buy and possess weapons capable of multiple human casualties, I posit that the writers of the 2^nd amendment are guilty of creating language that is too ambiguous and should be amended.

But let’s try to interpret their meaning.  I believe that the first phrase establishes a context for a body or group of people, who by their very intent, are brought together to secure a state against tyranny.  It is only toward that intent that the people (plural, not individuals) have the right to arm themselves, so not to be placed under tyranny.

The 2^nd amendment, therefore, gives the people of our country the right to prepare for war, not to allow individuals the right to possess weapons capable of multiple human casualties.

•      Stop the manufacture of automatic guns

Pass legislation making it illegal to manufacture automatic guns.  If leaders of Congress, like McConnell, refuses to bring the bill to the floor, galvanize the populace and force him to.

•      Do not attempt to confiscate the many automatic guns owned by private citizens, instead, implement a national gun “buy back” program that creates an incentive to return automatic guns

Common sense:  everything is for sale at the right price.

•      Educate our children (yes, brainwash them) to respect the dignity of every human so that the thought of taking a life becomes repulsive

Cut the “defense budget” (a misnomer) by 75% and redirect that money to education.

•      Promote peace, not war.

Live by two biblical scriptures: 1) Thou shall not kill, and 2) Love thy neighbor as thyself.

CPW