Semi-Daily Scribbles

“Oh no, it’s Thanksgiving. Now we have to eat turkey.”

For my friend who grew up in Colombia, turkeys are not a mainstay on the family dinner table. Save for this time of year, the bird doesn’t make an appearance on most folk’s plates anyway. I’d just as soon leave my obligatory holiday slice on the platter when it gets passed around next week. But the point of our friendly discussion wasn’t to merely talk turkey. Rather, my friend and I marveled at the mix of cultures one finds in towns big and small throughout the U.S. Something worthy for which to give thanks, to be sure, especially when this “American-ness” is something I take for granted. When it comes to celebrations, we needn’t model our feasts on (according to my friend) “those funny old Christmas movies from England.” Indeed, not! Humbug, I say. Dishes of fish and beef remind her of home. Her husband, part Asian, is partial to a traditionally dressed Chinese duck.

“Well there you go,” I said. “That’s your Thanksgiving menu.”

Now that would be a table at which I’d be most thankful to sup.