Michael Arlen Ode to Thanksgiving

Boca Grande, Florida (33921) has a population of 1,230. Boca Grande is a small town located on the west coast of Florida. The second you get off the plane you can smell the salty waters and fruity smoothies. The dry air and glaring sun on your skin brings me the feeling of warmth and happiness. The bright green palm tree leaves rustling in the wind providing slight shade from the bright golden sun. The sand if full of shells, that with one wrong step will slice your foot. Making your journey down to the water not comfortable. The water is so still in the morning it looks like a painting. Even when it's seventy-five degrees outside the water is still as clear as glass. It’s cold at first, but after you dive under like a dolphin once or twice

Holidays are always celebrated no matter religion, beliefs, or culture. Some are recognized more than others but none two are as highly recognized like the cherished Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays. The pair may seem vastly different, as they are two completely separate occasions, but in actuality they do share very similar attributes. Many of the similarities and differences are about to be explained, so here goes.

William Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation” opened my eyes about Plymouth and Thanksgiving. First of all, there was a part in Bradford’s background that caught my eye: Thanksgiving. I am sure that many of us at some point visualized Thanksgiving as a large feast. However, I found it shocking that his narrative does not emphasize a feast, but rather a document of what it was like in Plymouth and the interactions with the Native Americans. Either way, I still found it interesting how Thanksgiving came to be. It would be nice to read another person’s viewpoint of Thanksgiving and to see if there really was a feast or not.

As the holiday season is coming nearer each day, I found it appropriate to look further into the traditional Thanksgiving topic. I can only describe what my family does, my Puerto Rican and Caucasian family. As far as I can say, we are not necessarily traditional with our celebration of Thanksgiving. So I figured why not use this assignment as a way to further look into the holiday and how it is celebrated across America, this can mean anything from families celebrating it in their homes, to the retail shops of the country selling holiday/seasonal items to go along with the tradition. I would like to examine the traditions of thanksgiving.

Charlie Brown is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for his friends. Snoopy and the little bird helped him out by setting up the table and by making the food. However, Peppermint Patty doesn’t enjoy the food and is displeased with how the dinner is set up. Meanwhile, another one of his guests explains to Patty that she has to be grateful for what she has and shouldn’t complain. Peppermint Patty soon feels bad for what she had said and has the other girl apologize for her since she can not do it herself. Nevertheless, Charlie Brown soon accepts it and is able to invite them over to his grandmother's house for an actual dinner. The purpose of this show is to explain others that they have to be grateful for what they have.

When I imagine “The First Thanksgiving”, I think of peace and harmony. Then my History complex comes in, I remember all of the rape, cannibalism, and disease spreading that happened in the years before “The First Thanksgiving” ruin my picture perfect scene. The Pilgrims did not have a farming aspect when they came to The New Colony but with the help of the Native Americans they learned how to survive. When I was younger we always were taught that this time, in history, everyone got along and they were happy. The Pilgrims came to have religious freedom and not to be treated as second class citizens. This is a notable act but they had various pathogens that they were immuned to but the Natives were not. Historians say that the pathogens that

Theodor Seuss Geisel is best known around the world under the pseudonym Dr. Seuss for writing phenomenal children’s books, which taught children how to read and imagine the world in a different way. Geisel wanted children to build a critical life skill by most importantly learning how to read. He is an American icon because his work represents children’s literature, cartoon surrealism, and nonsense poetry. Geisel’s personal life influenced his work by the way he was raised as a child, his education, and marriages that motivated him to become one of the most popular children’s author’s during the twentieth century.

It is mind boggling to know that despite the quest for knowledge and learning the truth behind our history, yet a vast number of people still celebrate thanksgiving. What are we really thankful for?

But what is this year has been unkind to you? It could be that this Thanksgiving is going to be different from others. Maybe there is a seat at the table that is going to be empty for some reason. Maybe the table will look a little less full because of finances. Could it be that there are some who, because of struggles, burdens, and problems, would rather skip Thanksgiving? Maybe you’re here this morning and you know you should be thankful, you know it’s that time of year, but because of everything going on, because of the pressure and the problems that you are facing, because of the uncertainty you are facing, you would prefer to skip ahead a week. You don’t even know if you can find a reason to be thankful.

It 's a tradition that my moms side of the family come to my grandmas house for Thanksgiving. The cool air and falling leaves is a sign of fall and Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday. I don’t like my cousins very much and I 'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Thanksgiving is not that cheerful for me. Years ago at Thanksgiving, I was not excited for it, just like every other year. My grandmas basement is very much underground and quite dark without the lights on. My cousins were running around the basement playing around. I started to try to scare them by hiding and popping out saying "Boo!". Evening approached and the moon starts to come out of hiding and the night starts to set in. It’s a cool night outside and the sun starts to

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate our joys with friends and family. Unfortunately, if you are the person designated to cooking the holiday dinner, the joys can turn into complete and total fear. I'll never forget the first time I made Thanksgiving dinner for twenty family members and friends. I waited until the last minute to start and the dinner ended in a complete disaster. In the years following that failure, I have learned that preparing a Thanksgiving dinner is easy...if you plan ahead.

nimals, I think it's kind of gross, but I don’t have the commitment to say I'm a vegetarian. Anyway, I don't enjoy eating animals that much, it's just not for me but that's a personal problem.  But that's the main focus of Thanksgiving! People just call is Turkey Day, sometimes! So, there's one holiday food, OUT! Next in line, we have stuffing. Mmm don’t you just love good old fashioned wet bread to fill your genetically modified turkey's carcass? Ew! What? Why is that a thing? I don't need to argue this further, I think you get it. The only other key player in the Thanksgiving meal that comes to mind is pumpkin pie. Pumpkin spice is a fan favorite, starting early September people go wild over everything flavored to taste like that festive squash. That's another one of those foods that I just don't like, I'm a picky eater, it's fine. So, I'll let everyone have that, but that does not make Thanksgiving more enjoyable to me. The only Thanksgiving food that I can thoroughly enjoy, are mashed potatoes. Those are glorious, I'm not mad at them but my family gets a little upset at me when that's all I eat for Thanksgiving dinner so it doesn't even count. Major portion of Thanksgiving celebration is the food, and I'm not into it. Boom! Holiday ruined! I mean, if I'm going to overeat, it might as well be foods I enjoy! But, it gets worse.

Slavery has numerous of components that deeply help open up the very meaning of race. However, many of these topics usually do not reveal a side of slavery that happens on a regular basis and that is sexual abuse. People seem to avoid sexual abuse because it is challenging to provided evidences that the abuse is not consensual. However, this topic strongly impacts the way slaves life is shape daily. Therefore,sexual abuse will help deepen our understanding of the institution of slavery and its effect on our society as a whole by revealing that slaves must faces constant superiority and jealousy from their masters in order to survive.

I have discovered that people don’t share the same Thanksgiving traditions as me. Chicken, Duck, Turkey, and Turdunkin are all enjoyed as main course meals! Vegetables, mashed potatoes, rolls, cookies, ice cream, lemon pie, and blueberry pie bars are also enjoyed on Thanksgiving. Cookies, assorted pies, and blueberry pie bars are commonly enjoyed, and they actually sound pretty tasty! The favorite part of some people’s Thanksgiving feast would be the pie and rolls. Meals aren’t always eaten with family at the table. Some families sit on the couch, while they watch tv, or they eat at a fancy restaurant. Everyone has their own customs when it comes to the holidays.

There are holidays in every culture where the food is the focal point. For example, the most important tradition involving food in the U.S. is Thanksgiving. According to a 2015 poll, 95% of people in the U.S. spend Thanksgiving with their families.“Thanksgiving by the Numbers.” Fox Business, Fox Business, 23 Nov. 2016. This is because people in the U.S. grew up making memories with their families, and they want to make more memories with their children. These traditions are important to people because they make them nostalgic, so it’s necessary for people to take a break and spend time with their families.