The temperature is getting ready to drop. Black Friday will be a cold shopping day in our neck of the woods. Home and hearth beckon. Time to roast the chestnuts. It is apple cider time. Bailey’s coffee for all. Laughter and love. Hope and dreams. Christmas is a month away.

MJ read a book some years ago entitled Irregular People. We are all a bit irregular. One size does not fit all. The holidays remind us of this fact. In a line up we look different. When discussing politics or religion we have widely different views. Yet we love each other.

The first Thanksgiving was a time to break bread with very different people. That is what we celebrate. Our nation is founded on the proposition that all men are created equal. Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Happiness is not guaranteed but we are free to pursue it. The pursuit can be arduous. We may be created equal but our life circumstances are not equal. Some of us have all we need while others beg for a bread crust. Many of us will stuff ourselves on stuffed turkey and settle for an afternoon of football while others will seek shelter from the cold of late November.

Many will seek sanctuary where we are not called panhandlers.

Dickens told us of the brutal life of England in his day. Debtors Prison and poor Bob Cratchit working for a pittance and not enough coal for the fire. Tiny Tim was sick and getting sicker with no money for the doctors he required. The joy of a glass of Christmas Punch and a small helping of Plum Pudding. The prayerful grateful poor who feasted on meager fare.

Life is not all about our narcissistic reality. We are brothers and sisters. Our elected leaders have sunken to the lowest of lows. Truth is fake news and right is wrong. Who can get rich the quickest and the constituents be damned.

The true Christians can be spotted by their Jaguars and McMansions. The poor Christians are doing something wrong…

If anything Thanksgiving is a time of reflection. Who can I help…even a little…

‘Thank you Neva J for inviting me to Thanksgiving Dinner, ‘Rosie said. ‘I spent last year alone in my two-room house,’ Rosie continued. ‘I thought no one cared if I lived or died,’ Rosie said with tears in her eyes.

‘You are family, and you are always welcome in my home,’ Neva J said. ‘You are my sister and I love you,’ Neva J continued. ‘Kiddo…you are the best,’ Neva J proclaimed!