De-Compression Chambers ?

(De-Compression Chambers ?)

There is this time of year where everything seems compressed into four months of frenetic activity. Beginning with Halloween and not finishing till New Years' Day, these eight weeks or so, between candy for Halloween, egg-nogg at Christmas, and Champaigne for New Years, one can have a challenge. As today is Thanksgiving, that is about half-way through this interval. And, "Turkey Day," with a big bird and everything that goes with it, would not be complete without family. And, what might one talk about with family.


Recommendations have been dispensed as to what conversations to avoid at the dinner table, lest one triggers a food fight and with traditional Thanksgiving fare, that could lead to a serious mess. So, no Biden, no Trump, no economy, no Israel, no Ukraine. November 23rd, this year, aside from also remembering the Kennedy Assassination, there is a lot of external material that is dominating the news. So, instead of having the dining room TV tuned to some 24-news station. While It's a Wonderful Life is as ubiquitous as a re-gifted fruit cake this time of year, some Christmas romance should be on somewhere.


Now, with so many living pay-check to pay-check, with a full Thanksgiving meal reduced to a Hillshire Farm sliced turkey, deli style and some chips, Not exactly the dish to be profiled in Southern Living but still is a participation of sorts.


Take the Holiday as it was meant. Relax, enjoy family, friends and food. One will need all the strength one can muster. Tomorrow is Black Friday.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Siege Of The Alamo

(Siege Of The Alamo) Any visitor to Downtown San Antonio will recognize the City's most famous landmark, the Alamo. An old Spanish mission that means "Cottonwood" in English was the site where the likes of Jim Bowie, William Barrett Travis and Davy Crockett and about another 185 Texians defended the Mission and its compound for thirteen days against the Army of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana and his 5,000 troops. The garrison was finally reduced on March 6, 1836. However, the Texian defeat at the Alamo and another one at Goliad, bought time for General Sam Houston time to fall back and then face Santa Ana at San Jacinto. There, Houston's army surprised the Mexicans and yelling "Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad !" all but wiped out the Mexican force. Santa Ana was captured and was forced to recognize the Republic of Texas. Which is now the State of Texas and, like 1836 Texas War of Independence, there is a new invasion from Mexico. Not the armed body o
Read more

TEQUILA !

(TEQUILA !) Happy Cinco de Mayo or May 5th. One can hope that a lot of you out there are awash in inebriation, seeking to mainline tequila shots or enjoying a nice margarita on the patio. Or, in other words, relax. Take a breath. De-compress. May 5th as it happens is the anniversary of Mexico's victory over French "occupation" of Mexico by Emperor Maximillian, brother to Austrian monarch Maria Theresa in what has been called the Battle of Puebla. The reason France was in Mexico in the first place was that Mexico, after the Mexican-American War and a more civil conflict called the Reform War, had bankrupted Mexico City. Mexican President at the time was Benito Juarez, who repudiated all foreign debt, of which France, Spain, and the United Kingdom were all major holders. A naval expedition was dispatched to Veracruz and France's Napoleon III thought it would be a good idea to establish a French "empire" in Mexico. But, on May 5th, 1862, in the aforementioned B
Read more

Intended Consequences

(Intended Consequences) For those Readers who live in the Tri-State area, who had the earthquake this morning, just be still.  There is a postulate called the Law of Un-Intended Consequences. Basically, it says that even with the best intentions, negative results sometimes happen. However, there are also instances when a negative result is precisely the desired outcome. Like with the Israel- Hamas war where the Biden Administration continues to press for an all but unilateral ceasefire on the part of Israel. In California, the new $20/HR minimum wage is wreaking havoc on the fast food industry. And finally, after depleting the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, oil has now become too expensive. How many times must the Biden Administration think it can influence Israeli affairs ? How many times must Israel ignore it. Threats from the President have become redundant at this point but is Biden really prepared to cut Israel loose ? In the middle of the greatest crisis Israel is facing since the
Read more