Happy Thanksgiving

by publius

I'm on the road for the holidays, but Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I'm hoping to add a net of two pounds today.

Comments

[wonkie]

Hope you all have a funn time.

We are having a depleted TDay this year. Most of the relatives are not making the trip down so it's just me, my husband and his mom. The dinnner convverstaion will consist of reminding her that her husband isn't eating with us because he has been dead for ten years and no, we have no grandbaby to show her. Dead for ten years, no baby. Dead for ten years. no baby. The nice thing about dementia is that you never run out of converstaion.

Fortunatley my mom in law has a happy nature. She copes pretty well with her dream-state existance.

So it will be a fun event for her.

Cheers!

[Gary Farber]

"The nice thing about dementia is that you never run out of converstaion."

If it isn't too painful to hear, or too tasteless to say -- and maybe it is, as my judgement about that sort of thing is imperfect, in which case apologies: that's a pretty funny and sharp observation.

I guess borrowing a baby, or maybe baybe pictures, for visits would be a poor ethical and practical call, but I have to confess that the notion occurs to me. I've seen too many sitcoms.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate it, of course. We had our first big snow storm of the season the night before last, with yesterday being totally dark/grey. Today it's sunnier, but still down to only 13 degrees F., and the snow still blanketing all but shoveled sidewalks. I always like the way it makes everything quieter, so long as I don't have to get around in it.

[Barrett Wolf]

Happy T day...

And thanks for a place to have intelligent, fun (and funny) conversation...

You guys also keep me up on the lastest political nonsense as it passes by...

Kinda like skeet shooting....

PULL!

[dutchmarbel]

We don't have thanksgiving day over here, but I always feel that any occassion to give thanks should be grabbed.

Have a nice day all!

[kid bitzer]

thanks for all your good work since joining the front page, publius.
thanks for g'kar, for his posting and his perspective. and here's to his safe return.
and thanks for hilzoy, one of the ace truth-tellers of the world.

[John Thullen]

Happy Turkey Day.

Wonkie:

"Dead for ten years, no baby."

At some point in time, that was a good band name.

I say that with full understanding of the weight and the lightness of being of someone with dementia who was near, but who became very far.

[Catsy]

Must share an IM exchange I had with my SO this morning. This will only be funny to people who have played Everquest, WoW, or some other MMO.

(7:41 AM) Jess:
I'm also at a loss as to what to have for breakfast.
(7:44 AM) Jess:
I'm trying not to raid the turkey, you see.
(7:45 AM) Catsy:
Why, does it not drop anything good?

[wonkie]

I'm sorry f I seemed crass about dememtia. I spend a lot of time with my mom in law and her companions in their care home. My mom died of Alzheier's. It took six or sevenyears.

Sometimes it takes morepatience than I have so I make up the deficit with humor.

Lunch in the dementia wing can be a real mad hatter's tea party.

BTW, as of dinner yestereday, we have TWO babies, a boy and a girl.

And very much second the thanks to Hilzoy, Sebastian, Publius, and othr posters for all the conversation here.

[Jesurgislac]

Yay wonkie babies!

Sometimes it takes morepatience than I have so I make up the deficit with humor.

Yeah. I had a great-aunt I loved who was suffering from multi-infarct dementia before she died (she could remember her childhood, but not whether she'd had lunch...): sometimes the only way to deal with it is to make sick, sick, sick jokes...

[JakeB]

As someone with an Alzheimer's case in my immediate family, I thought that was a damn funny comment.

I hope all had a good thanksgiving or Thursday. At my family's house, this year's cornbread & sausage stuffing was truly spectacular -- for me, an "as for the meaning of life, eating this will do" dish.

[Barrett Wolf]

"a net of two pounds"

Is she anything like Ann of Green Gables?

I just had to.

Cheers.

[OCSteve]

I’m thankful for my wife who has put up with me for 28 years (we just celebrated our 25th, but we dated for a year and then lived in sin for 2 years before we were married).

I’m thankful that my family is in generally good health in spite of my step-dad having a massive brain tumor removed a few years ago and my sister having a kidney transplant (step-dad donor). My grandmother is in her 80’s and could kick your butt…

I’m thankful that I have a good job and a good boss.

I’m thankful that I can afford to give a decent amount of money to charity this year.

I’m thankful for people like g'kar.

I’m thankful for my dog.

And to echo others I am thankful for this blog which has enlightened me in many ways.

[cw]

Dead for ten years. no baby.

That's a great line. In my case, it was my mother-in-law. We'd go on a ride; she'd continually ask what crops were growing. This being Ohio, "corn and soybeans" was always the answer. From then on whenever she had a not-so-good day, we'd describe it as another "corn and soybeans" kind of day. What else can you do but find whatever humor you can?

When visiting her you were reminded of how worthwhile it was to just experience the present, as she certainly had little sense of the either the past or the future. She died earlier this year, age 96, and I miss her.

[wonkie]

When I mentioned to a relative that paul and I have been regifting the same gift to my mom in law over and over the relative was shocked. But honestly, why bysomething new when she doesn't recognize anything new as being hers?

As you say it can be a gift to live in the moment. She understands that we love her. She enjoys getting the gift. Even if she can't remember events I thinkthe feeling of happinness and security stays with her. So why not use the same presnt over and over?

[someotherdude]

I just listened to an interview with Mr. Mead. Very interesting. He gives a very elegant defense of Anglo-American dominance. Not like the clumsy and obnoxious defenses I’m used to reading in many nationalistic pieces. What was a bit jarring though was his reasoning concerning colonial adventures. He claims the Anglo-American desire to share their incredible “values” makes military dominance possible. How sweet. I suspect unrelenting greed and the desire to conquer and rule over weaker tribes is for other people.

God And Gold
In his new book, "God And Gold", Walter Russell Mead delves into the global political and economic systems of Britain and America that created the modern world. He explains that the key to the global predominance of the two countries has been the individualistic ideology of the prevailing Anglo-American religion. Larry talks with the foreign policy expert about how the two nations were able to create the liberal, democratic system whose influence continues to grow around the world.

Listen: God and Gold

Oceanic World Orders New York Times November 18, 2007

It is impossible to imagine George W. Bush eating cucumber sandwiches on an English lawn while discussing the latest cricket scores. Yet this president, the one with the fewest English airs, has nonetheless inspired rampant Anglophilia among some foreign policy experts. With his unashamedly “civilizing” mission in the Middle East, and his deployment of gunboats as a tool of diplomacy, Bush has sent intellectuals dashing back to the British Empire for parallels and predecessors.

[KCinDC]

On the CNN front page now, under "Latest News": "Ticker: Cheney having heart procedure".

[DaveC]

On the CNN front page now, under "Latest News": "Ticker: Cheney having heart procedure".

Crap, that's ruining the chances for a Giuliani/Cheney (Beelzebub/Satan) ticket that I was hoping for.

[russell]

Crap, that's ruining the chances for a Giuliani/Cheney (Beelzebub/Satan) ticket that I was hoping for.

No worries. I don't think there's anything in the Constitution that requires the VP to actually be alive while in office.

Why should the undead be denied a chance to serve their country?

[KCinDC]

I wasn't really talking about the content of the article, just the headline pun resulting from the story's inclusion in the Political Ticker section. Intentional or not?

[John Thullen]

Russell:

"Why should the undead be denied the chance to serve their country?"

Hey, if it wasn't for Death, none of the rest of us would get a chance.

Think of the complaining from the living Republicans if all of the undead Republicans were still collecting Social Security and burdening Medicare with their petty complaints.

I suspect aborting the undead would become very popular among the culture of life.

Of course, Republicans would still have taxes to whine about. Grover Norquist is on CNBC at this very moment referring to taxes as "stealing". Well, he should know that stealing my first tax dollar to support the military is no less stealing than swiping my last marginal tax dollar for redistribution. Theft is theft, and he might be sorry he armed me, the unAmerican little putz.

On the upside, you could use all of that land now tied up in cemeteries to put up heavily leveraged condos.

And, how about all of that land under churches now being used for unproductive pursuits? Why, with no Death, there would be no afterlife and thus bribing God would be unnecessary.

God would have to get a job, thus finally contributing to the tax base, the piker, living off me all of these millenia.

But, since God is a Republican, think of all the divine whining?

[Ugh]

Sadly, Cheney's heart is still two sizes too small, despite the procedure "intended to shock his heart back into normal rhythm".

[Ugh]

Anyone else not able to see any posts prior to the "Arabic 101" post?

[trilobite]

Yes, I was wondering about that.

[JakeB]

Well, it would be amusing to watch Colma local politics were the dead to rise again (Colma being the Bay Area town where most of the San Francisco dead are buried, and where the dead outnumber the living by several thousand to one).

[JakeB]

Don't posts softly and silently vanish away after a week? You can still get to them using the list on the side.

[Ara]

Keep pushing a loser, Dems.

The way people keep repeating that she is the most electable candidate, even in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary, reminds me of ... what does it remind me of? ... well Bush's various campaigns of doublespeak.

The message gets out there only because people are only too glad to repeat it. True or not. This is the same genre of stupidity that got us into the war.

[ugh]

Thanks Trilobite

[cleek]

Keep pushing a loser, Dems.

not so fast

[hairshirthedonist]

I would assume that not a lot of the regulars here are much into Van Halen, but you have to check this out. It's just a phenomenal performance by Eddie Van Halen. I didn't even know he could play like this. It's mind blowing.

[Ugh]

Dear lord, is it too much to ask for Obama or Edwards to win the presidency next year? Please please please don't stick us with Hillary or any of the Republicans.

Much thanks.

Ugh

[DaveC]

cleek, I'll see your Eddie Van Halen and raise you an Eddie Hazel.

Looky here now.

Funkadelicious, and it goes without saying, Play Loud.

[cleek]

It's mind blowing.

it took me a loooonnnng time to catch on. heh. Well Done, whoever did that.

[DaveC]

I didn't get it and also called hairshirt "cleek" (whether or not cleek has the hairshirt look), so I'm a double-'tard.

I'll still stick w/ Hazel.

[Bernard Yomtov]

The Zogby poll was conducted online among 9,150 likely voters across the United States between November 21 and 26, and carried a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percentage point.

I don't understand how an online poll works. That is, I understand it's possible to take a poll online, but is there really a reliable method of getting a random sample? And isn't there a significant danger of a "Literary Digest" effect?

[Gary Farber]

"Don't posts softly and silently vanish away after a week?"

No.

[JakeB]

Well, I should have said "off the front page", but it seemed less euphonious, or eugraphious, as the case may be.

[russell]

It's just a phenomenal performance by Eddie Van Halen.

I'll see your Eddie Van Halen and raise you an Eddie Hazel.

Hey, I'll jump on a musical threadjack anytime.

Cheers.

[Ara]

Thanks, cleek.

[someotherdude]

DaveC,

Holy Sh1t, man....that was one of the sweetest gifts. I owe you big time for that!!

Lord have mercy, that made my night!