Thursday, November 27, 2008

A Thanksgiving Question



OK dear readers, tell me I am not going crazy on this Thanksgiving.

While taking a walk with my family this Thanksgiving morning I made a passing reference to Squanto.
My wife had no idea what I was talking about.

I said "You know, Squanto! The first Thanksgiving. Plymouth Rock, Massasoit, William Bradford, Myles Standish, the Pilgrims and the Indians sitting down and eating turkey."

None of it rang a bell.
I asked "Didn't you have the big Thanksgiving pageant and play with the kids playing the Pilgrims and the Indians?"

My wife, a native Californian, responded "We may have dressed up once or twice, but you are from Massachusetts. We didn't know about that out here?"

And it is true that growing up outside of Boston the story of the first Thanksgiving was driven into our brains and we took that mandatory creepy trip to Plimouth Plantation.

But it's not like it is a regional holiday.
The reason I was not at work today was it was THANKSGIVING! A NATIONAL holiday!

My sister in law never heard of any of it either.
These are two intelligent women with more college degrees than your friend Sully.

And they both think Massasoit sounds like something you order at Starbucks.

I refuse to believe that people outside of New England didn't have this in their social studies class.
Seriously, did the name Massasoit never make it south of Rhode Island.
Does nobody west of Pittsfield know about Myles Standish?

I mean I know it isn't the most politically correct celebration anymore but tell me you've HEARD of it.
Or do you think we have the 4th Thursday of November off because we hate Turkeys and want to get loaded on stuffing before blowing out or credit cards Christmas shopping?





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