It’s turkey day already. We’ll follow a lot of holiday traditions, perhaps without knowing exactly why. Consider this: The Pilgrims never strayed very far from the ocean. Have you ever wondered why turkey was the meal of choice on that first Thanksgiving? Why not tilapia? Surely tilapia could be found in the estuaries in the Plymouth vicinity. The idea that fish could have been the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving Day feast isn’t all that far fetched. According to a spokesperson for the living-history museum Plimoth Plantation, that first Thanksgiving the natives and the Pilgrims feasted on fish, lobster and clams, in addition to venison, birds and nuts. They had peas and carrots too. I’ll bet the Pilgrim kids fed that to the squirrels.
Of course, had they chosen tilapia, cornbread stuffing probably wouldn’t have been an option. Nor would gravy be a popular item. A lot of restaurants serve tilapia these days but I have never seen, let alone tasted, tilapia gravy. A creative chef could no doubt make one, but would it go well with mashed potatoes? No wonder turkey was the surviving tradition. Let’s face it; a tilapia sandwich Thanksgiving night, with or without cranberry sauce, is about as appealing as a Detroit Lions – Cleveland Browns football game.
Regardless, pumpkin pie would still be an important part of the holiday. But, then again, that might be by default. Did the first settlers try cranberry pie the first few years? Maybe they got tired of scrubbing the red stains out of the special tablecloth. Tide wasn’t around then to help. And beating that tablecloth on a few rocks in cold water is no match for cranberry stains, that’s for sure. They probably decided that the cranberry didn’t mix well with Cool Whip either. Yes, pumpkin pie was a safer bet.
I suppose turkey is the quintessential American meal. People from all cultures have immigrated to America, especially over the last 150 years. Regardless of their origins, most have adopted turkey on Thanksgiving wholeheartedly. But, had another culture settled America first, would turkey have become the Thanksgiving table superstar it is today? My parents were first generation Italian Americans, born in the USA. My mother dutifully prepared a traditional Thanksgiving dinner but there were a few items that I don’t think the Pilgrims ever tried. Mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and garlic come to mind. At least she never stuffed the turkey with meatballs and sausage. Listen: had the Italians arrived first (right after Christophoro Columbo) there’s a distinct possibility that the Thanksgiving menu would look more like what one can get any night of the week at Buca De Beppo. They’re open Thanksgiving if you’re so inclined.
A lot of people say they really look forward to enjoying leftovers for a couple of days. Turkey sandwiches for lunch, pie for a midnight snack and so on. Of course, if you’re having company you must cook a turkey that’s big enough to send guests home with provisions too. Advance planning is critical. There is nothing worse than having to turn over the drumsticks to your brother-in-law, leaving you with turkey gizzard and the wishbone. The Pilgrims and the natives probably didn’t have that problem. For starters, the closest thing they had to a Frigidaire was a stream filled with cold water. Without Tupperware to hold the leftovers, the tilapia still swimming would have taken revenge and eaten them.
Regardless of what’s on the menu, the purpose of the holiday hasn’t changed all that much over the centuries. Originally what is now known as thanksgiving was meant to celebrate the harvest season. Europeans, American Indians and other cultures held feasts to offer thanks to the good Lord for their sustenance and survival. Of course the vast majority of Americans were farmers in the early years. Today, not many of us are connected to farm work.
Except for the wizards of Wall Street who have the privilege of collecting huge annual bonuses, most of us don’t actually celebrate a harvest on Thanksgiving. But we are thankful for what we have.
Like Old Glory and raucous town hall meetings, Turkey on Thanksgiving is truly an American touchstone. President Obama should be grateful for that. If tradition holds, he will pardon a turkey today. He should be grateful tilapia isn’t the centerpiece of dining room tables. Dropping a gasping fish into a river would have been a lousy photo-op.
Copyright 2009, Len Serafino. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
A Couple of Historic Moments
I got an email from President Obama just before midnight (11:56 p.m.) Saturday night. Yes, he wanted to tell me as soon as he could that at 11:15 p.m. the House of Representatives passed a health insurance reform bill. His email ran 8 short paragraphs. I found myself wondering about that. I mean the President is surely a good writer but to crank out such a long message and send it in just 41 minutes is amazing. And I’m sure I wasn’t the only one he sent it to. It was addressed to me personally but we’ve never actually met.
The President said it was a historic moment and he praised the bravery of those in Congress that voted yes. The he cautioned me that it was “a night to celebrate but not to rest.” Next, the President expressed worries about the Senate bill’s prospects. Insurance companies are sure to do whatever they can to derail the bill. I have to say I was with the President all the way up to this point in his message. Regardless of how I feel about health care reform, I think it’s wonderful that the President is living up to his campaign promise to change the way things are done in Washington. Barack Obama is a busy man. Yet he thinks enough of me to write and so late on a Saturday night! I mean I never heard a word from George Bush.
But then the President said something that brought me up shorter than the period at the end of this sentence. He asked me for money. He wanted to know if I would donate $25 to the cause. Here was the President of the United States, our 44th President, asking for money to help him push his agenda.
Presidents have asked citizens to contribute to worthy causes like helping the people that suffered so much from Hurricane Katrina. But a sitting President asking working stiffs for money to help win an ongoing political battle marks another historic moment. I guess it was inevitable really. Vested interests, big corporations and rich people with more money than they need, have been engaged in a titanic struggle to hold onto their particular pieces of the pie for years now. Reforming big spending by well heeled lobbies is probably impossible given the advantages of the current system that accrue to lawmakers. Instead the answer seems to be, “Let’s get the little guy in on the action.” I’m not sure it will work though. Right now middle class America puts up with an enormous amount of electronic dueling during Presidential elections. How many of us are willing to spend our hard earned money for media ads with their laser like focus on dividing us further apart?
Still, it seems to me that the President’s asking for donations to fight for his agenda is an unprecedented step. If it works can we expect more of this type of behavior? Will we get Christmas cards praising artificial trees along with a request for a donation to get the administration’s version of global warming legislation passed?
Maybe when the President speaks to school children again he can ask them to donate 50% of their lunch money to get his education program done.
Will the President and his successors wind up hosting telethons, staying up all night a la Jerry Lewis mixing issues talk with entertainers that support the President’s views? (Note to Barack: Labor Day is taken and Jerry’s cause is worthy.)
As the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States certainly has the right to use Teddy Roosevelt’s bully pulpit to advocate his agenda. But making a direct appeal for money is unseemly. It’s as if being President isn’t enough. He wants to be the president of a PAC as well.
We are living in a time when well reasoned argument isn’t enough anymore. The idea that together we will ultimately do what’s right based on good thoughtful ideas, has been replaced by money plays. I understand the President’s dilemma, but in the long term his strategy is not a winner for him or us.
Copyright 2009, Len Serafino. Al rights reserved.
The President said it was a historic moment and he praised the bravery of those in Congress that voted yes. The he cautioned me that it was “a night to celebrate but not to rest.” Next, the President expressed worries about the Senate bill’s prospects. Insurance companies are sure to do whatever they can to derail the bill. I have to say I was with the President all the way up to this point in his message. Regardless of how I feel about health care reform, I think it’s wonderful that the President is living up to his campaign promise to change the way things are done in Washington. Barack Obama is a busy man. Yet he thinks enough of me to write and so late on a Saturday night! I mean I never heard a word from George Bush.
But then the President said something that brought me up shorter than the period at the end of this sentence. He asked me for money. He wanted to know if I would donate $25 to the cause. Here was the President of the United States, our 44th President, asking for money to help him push his agenda.
Presidents have asked citizens to contribute to worthy causes like helping the people that suffered so much from Hurricane Katrina. But a sitting President asking working stiffs for money to help win an ongoing political battle marks another historic moment. I guess it was inevitable really. Vested interests, big corporations and rich people with more money than they need, have been engaged in a titanic struggle to hold onto their particular pieces of the pie for years now. Reforming big spending by well heeled lobbies is probably impossible given the advantages of the current system that accrue to lawmakers. Instead the answer seems to be, “Let’s get the little guy in on the action.” I’m not sure it will work though. Right now middle class America puts up with an enormous amount of electronic dueling during Presidential elections. How many of us are willing to spend our hard earned money for media ads with their laser like focus on dividing us further apart?
Still, it seems to me that the President’s asking for donations to fight for his agenda is an unprecedented step. If it works can we expect more of this type of behavior? Will we get Christmas cards praising artificial trees along with a request for a donation to get the administration’s version of global warming legislation passed?
Maybe when the President speaks to school children again he can ask them to donate 50% of their lunch money to get his education program done.
Will the President and his successors wind up hosting telethons, staying up all night a la Jerry Lewis mixing issues talk with entertainers that support the President’s views? (Note to Barack: Labor Day is taken and Jerry’s cause is worthy.)
As the most powerful man in the world, the President of the United States certainly has the right to use Teddy Roosevelt’s bully pulpit to advocate his agenda. But making a direct appeal for money is unseemly. It’s as if being President isn’t enough. He wants to be the president of a PAC as well.
We are living in a time when well reasoned argument isn’t enough anymore. The idea that together we will ultimately do what’s right based on good thoughtful ideas, has been replaced by money plays. I understand the President’s dilemma, but in the long term his strategy is not a winner for him or us.
Copyright 2009, Len Serafino. Al rights reserved.
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