Happy Thanksgiving, one and all!

My mother and father tried every year to coax out of each of us what we were thankful for, as we all salivated around the table on the precipice of consuming the best meal of the year. By “us,” I mean grandparents to toddlers. And, we would normally go from oldest to youngest (well, at least that is what my memory is telling me; maybe that’s just how we were seated). So, first the octogenarians would opine about what family means to them and, eventually, my brother and I would be on the hot seat. Young kids love to sabotage these kinds of things, despite the heartfelt intentions of their parents, and there I’d be shouting out something like, “Football in the fall…..and food!”

Despite my flippant treatment of what was obviously a very mannerly endeavor, ironically, both football (I watch a lot of it) and food (I eat a lot of it) remain among the things I am most thankful for. It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that my family–Amy, Lilly, and everyone I am connected to by blood–is the one thing that enriches my life more than any other one thing. I’m a pretty reflective person (there’s that Jesuit influence), so I do not need a big holiday to know that.

But, I do need a big holiday to remind me of what is right in my life, in our culture, in our economy, on our tables. Despite the challenges each of us faces, each of us has been bestowed with many skills and opportunities. I marvel each day at the wonderful talent that comes across our desks in the form of applications for admission to Loyola; and I marvel at the incredible talents of our faculty, our staff, and our students.

I appreciate the diversity of people I have had the chance to meet in my time in New Orleans and at Loyola. I am reminded that although everywhere in America Thursday is Thanksgiving, we all might celebrate it a little differently. Some of us will go down the line and have a traditional meal (though I bet you will have a hard time getting two people to agree of what every detail of that means). Others will weave in their own variations. My Italian relatives will, no doubt, add pasta and meatballs and sauce (locally, sauce is called gravy-see, another variation). Here in New Orleans, oyster dressing replaces the traditional stuffing. Cranberry sauce? Well, lots can happen there. Apple pie? Sure, but how about some homemade blackberry gelato? Turkey? No doubt, but is yours prepared like our university photographer Harold Baquet’s turkey, infused with garlic seasoning and slow-cooked…for 22 hours?!?!?

The point is, Thanksgiving is ours. This nation is ours. Our creativity is ours. Harness it, use it, share it, challenge it. What makes each of us unique, collectively, makes us great. Thank God we live in a country where that is more than a right, it’s an expectation.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 24th, 2008 at 4:36 pm.