Thanksgiving Day is perhaps The Providential Gardener's favorite holiday. It centers in the awesome recognition of how fortunate we are to have food that sustains our lives. It's hard for us today to realize how close to death the first European settlers in New England were ~ how utterly dependent they were on a decent harvest to make it through the long winters. We are not aware how dependent we are on farmers for our own lives ~ we take their hard work for granted. But as a bumper sticker from the Rhode Island Farm Bureau puts it in big red letters:
I am a native New Englander, and Thanksgiving Day has always been an important family time. But my most memorable Thanksgiving Day was spent in France a few years ago. We went to Normandy for the day, and we walked through fields of white crosses on a sunny, warm afternoon, within sight of a sparkling sea. We walked on the beaches that once were scenes of unspeakable horror, and we saw some of the remaining bunkers and guns that fired on the beaches. Today I'm thinking about our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters who are serving far from their families ~ hoping they have a special meal and some joy in their lives before they turn back to their work. They also live close to death in ways we don't imagine.
Enjoy dinner on T-Day, and then do yourself a favor ~ deepen your awareness of exactly how food gets to your plate, remember how fortunate many of us are to have the basic things that sustain life, and make the whole weekend a time for Thanksgiving. Some ways to do this include
- Make sure everybody in the state has the basics ~ for instance, donate warm coats to Buy Nothing Day.
- Audubon, the RI Wild Plant Society, and others have planned some great outdoor and indoor activities for everybody. Instead of the mall, you could be on seal watches or bird caravans ~ All of this is listed on The Providential Gardener Calendar.
- And plenty of folks could use some cheering up in ways that don't have to include spending money.
If you can't get outside (which is preferred!) and have some time to spend online, explore The Providential Gardener and learn about What Grows On all around you in Rhode Island. I'm sure you'll find something you didn't know about our great little state, and I hope you'll find how to get together with other Rhode Islanders who enjoy and care for our beautiful bit of earth in so many different ways.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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