2006-11-24 - 3:13 a.m.
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! Thanksgiving is, as you know, the only holiday that I really and truly get into – and that is because I am essentially a great fat glutton, and any day that involves feasting and swithing is all right with me. It is no hardship to treat this like a real holiday, for even an atheist such as I am can surely find reasons to be thankful for in this year 2006. There might be troubles – but we are all alive and have made it through another year. And there are many people in far worse situations than I am in. So rejoice! It is ungrateful to do otherwise – and there are 364 other days in which I can grouse and snipe and be unhappy.
Tonight there shall be mom-made turkey and homemade gravy. And cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes, as well as Brussels sprouts cooked with chestnuts and olive oil. Then there shall be pies: Last night I acted as mom’s “prep chef,” slicing two full dozen Rome and Pippin apples into little nuggets and laying them in the Pepperidge Farm crust. And there shall be pumpkin maple pies, prepared last night and made with maples syrup smuggled home from a family trip to Canada. Really, what could be nicer?
As is customary, after the turkey went into the oven, my mother and I went for a walk along the Pacific Palisades bluffs overlooking the ocean. The weather right now is uncommonly wonderful – somewhat overcast, but enough of the sun showing through to give the mock Riviera-style condos and apartment buildings lining the park a muted gold glow. The sea itself was a blanket of silver grey – but the sun shone glittering and gold above it, surrounded by fleecy grey-ish clouds. As LA often does in the winter, the light possessed that picturesque Venetian quality.
We walked along the cliffs, passing numerous couples and families, all out for a pre-dinner promenade perambulation. Everyone looked so happy and normal! There were no freaks, no loons, no horrible psych cases – just average-y people who had their lives worked out in a semi-satisfactorily fashion. And for just a few moments, I found myself believing that LA is not really such a bad place, after all. I mean, I shall wake up tomorrow and feel differently, I am sure, but today – what’s wrong with it? Clearly the gentle golden light has gone right to my head.
