The Urban Pantheist

Carrie is a dear friend who hosts Thanksgiving dinner with her husband Ben. Alexis and I have gone there for the holiday for many years now.




Pocket and I ended up looking about the same by the end of the night (my outfit wasn't as cute).

Coworker Jim gave me a Thanksgiving beer. This one is sometimes called "Genghis Pecan." This label depicts Genghis Khan about to do battle with turkeys armed with maces and nunchucks.

On Thanksgiving day, Alexis and I picked up our friends in Somerville and took them to our other friend's house in Salem. Charlie and Turtle were also in attendance.

( thanksgiving story )

Thanksgiving time is upon us again and for most of us United Statesians that means an orgy of overeating above and beyond our normal gluttony. For those who have chosen not to eat animal products it means a horribly awkward time in which a beloved family ritual is transformed into an exercise in walking on eggshells--sorry! I know you don't eat eggs, I just--

Fortunately there's a handy guide on how to host a mixed vegan/non-vegan Thanksgiving. You should definitely read it, but here's what it boils down to:

1. Everyone should treat everyone else like adults. No need to feel ashamed for wherever we fall in the diversity of choices of how we eat, and no need to be a dick about it, on either side.

2. Don't be insulted that the vegans refuse your delicious food. Butter, honey, and gelatin all count, as do animal ingredients like wine clarifiers and confectioners' glaze.

3. It's not impossible to make some foods vegan, if you want everyone to have a chance to eat. You don't even have to bend over backwards.

4. Even vegans don't like Tofurkey. Don't buy that shit.

5. It's really hard to make a good tasting vegan pumpkin pie.

6. Don't choose this special time to argue the pros and cons of veganism. I would extend this to all mealtimes. The least interesting and most awkward dinner conversation possible begins "So why don't you eat meat?" (or "animal products," or "pork," or "any food not blessed by a Rabbi") There's no easier way to ruin a meal, or a conversation. You ruined Christmas last year, leave Thanksgiving alone!

I seem to remember Thanksgivings from my childhood as cold days, autumn on the calendar but decidedly wintry in character. This year it was almost 60 degrees, and the little park near our house still looks like fall.

( Read more... )

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Remember to always be grateful for the love of your friends and family, the compassion of the compassionate, and the great bounty given by the Earth.


pictured above: Tito, friend and coworker, today surviving her third Thanksgiving.