Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving is the most honest and straightforward of holidays, unencumbered by religious rituals and other things we know we really ought to be doing and replaced by the things we actually want to do. Eat pie and be with your family. I know turkey usually comes before the pie, but the pie stands out in my mind. When else in our lives do we go out of our way to eat pie? When else do we think about what type of pie to eat, pumpkin or cherry or apple or strawberry rhubarb or – and these are the magic words – pecan pie? This amazing variety of the thing that we never, ever think about at any other time is something to be truly thankful for. The aroma of pie says “Home” in any language. Biting into a piece first brings the teeth in contact with the flaky, yummy crust, which tastes of butter and childhood. Then there’s the fruit filling, baked to another level of sweet flavor that makes your eyes close. And when you’re done with that mouthful, there’s another, and another, and when someone says, “Would you like another piece?” you respond, “Yes, and I’ll have a slice of the pumpkin pie too, this time, with a little ice cream on top.” Whenever I hear someone on a cell phone bitching about the rainy weather, or the bad day they had at the office because every little thing didn’t go there way, I want to say to them, “Pie.” Some complainers might assume I’m a stray mathematician musing on an equation. But the savvy, the smart, the ones who seek out the real pleasures of life with their nose and taste buds, will smile and remember that, in the end, no matter how much your life sucked today – or through the wild recessionary, war-ravaged turbulence of 2009 – a good slice of pie is all you really need.

Happy Thanksgiving.

The Captains