Thanksgiving

Sometimes it’s hard to be grateful. Especially around Thanksgiving when we’re expected to make a list of all we’ve got to be thankful for. It’s an easy task for those of you with great jobs. Beautiful homes. Maybe even a Lamborghini in the driveway. What about those of us who may not be doing all that well this year? Especially with the economy the way its been. What have we got to be thankful for? It takes more of an effort every year but I always manage to come up with a couple of things to be grateful for. This year I’m going to be thankful I’m not in prison and I don’t live in Calgary. All of you on the Sunshine Coast can be thankful for getting to live in Paradise.

Thanksgiving is that time of the year when those of us living in L.A. really miss our hometowns. The place where we grew up in and where, deep down, a big chunk of our heart remains. For most of my life home was Chilton, Wisconsin. That small town where I grew up and where most of my dreams were born. But it’s been Sechelt ever since my first visit on the Sunshine Coast in the early 80’s. It truly was love at first sight. I can’t think of any place that tugs on my heart strings more than your part of the world. From Langdale north it’s all the closest I’ll ever get to Heaven.

Watching football on Thanksgiving Day is the only tradition we have in L.A., which is odd since we’re the only large city in the country that doesn’t have its own NFL franchise. There are tons of Raider fans here but only by default. Why else would any rational human being be a Raiders fan? Of course growing up in Wisconsin automatically makes me a Packer fan for life. In L.A. you hardly ever see anyone playing football. It’s soccer. Soccer! I might as well be living in Bolivia! Soccer fans are extremely loud. Louder than both baseball and football fans put together. You should hear them in the sports bars screaming in Spanish. You know they’re having the time of their life. Like the hockey fans at the Lighthouse Pub. Good times. Good times.

Some of us are left to create our own individual Thanksgiving traditions. My son and his buddies played rough and tough tackle football in the park every Thanksgiving Day. The "Turkey Bowl" was an annual event for years until one of his best friends, Chad, became a father. Children change our lives in so many ways and forever.

Although I never admitted it to anyone, I found it took longer and longer to recover from the injuries of each Turkey Bowl. Getting older can be a brutal process. Aging has no consideration for our dignity whatsoever. It was only a matter of time before the Turkey Bowl would go the way of the dodo bird. While our Thanksgiving in this country is to commemorate the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, I understand you Canadians are celebrating the landing of John Molson on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in 1786. Or so I’ve been told.

Last week I was reminded once more why I miss small town life. Terry Fluhr, one of my high school friends, emailed me that at his house on Thanksgiving Day all the children are responsible for making the side dishes. Isn’t that the coolest Thanksgiving tradition you’ve ever heard of? Imagine the excitement in the children’s voices as they scurry around the kitchen preparing their own favorite side dish. If we did that in L.A. we’d be eating nothing but carnitas and beans. I can’t help but envy Terry and the rest of you living in small towns like Sechelt. You’ve got real traditions. Traditions that will never die. Family traditions.

Perhaps while you’re compiling your list this Thanksgiving you might look out and notice there isn’t a Lamborghini parked on the driveway. You might hate your job, or worse, not even have one. That place you call home might be run down and need of repair. Maybe the roof leaks. But if you do have family traditions you’ve got plenty to be grateful for this year. You live in a town that still fosters the love of family. The love of neighbors. The only time I ever see my neighbor in L.A. is if he’s shooting at me. And then only when he stopping to reload. If you’re living on the Sunshine Coast you’ve got plenty to be thankful for. You all live in Paradise.

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Tom Neuhoff

World Humour

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