Thanksgiving, Tom Robbins and Other Oxymora

I’m not working this week, so no medical musings from me as I take my vacation responsibilities very seriously. But lots of meandering…..

I am without a doubt one of the world’s least well-read people, so the idea of me blogging about literature is as much of an oxymoron as “least well-read”. The only time I read for pleasure is on vacation, and I began this one by finishing the book I started months ago during my last break from work, Tom Robbins’ Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates. I really like Tom Robbins, but I completely understand why many people don’t. His novels are audacious, absurd, larger-than-life and beyond far-fetched. But there are two things about his writing that I in particular appreciate and enjoy. He confronts life’s most important and contentious subjects (ie, the ones we should never discuss over Thanksgiving dinner) with bold humor, and – especially for an XY author – he creates strong complex female characters. David Mamet should probably spend some time with Mr. Robbins before he next attempts to put an XX into one of his works.

Near the very end of Fierce Invalids, there’s a passage that curiously got me thinking about Thanksgiving and why I like it so much. Domino – the book’s most multidimensional woman – says, “[N]o matter how valid, how vital, one’s belief system might be, one undermines that system and ultimately negates it when one gets rigid and dogmatic in one’s adherence to it.” While the spirit of Thanksgiving – the idea of being thankful for what you have – is every bit as religious as counting one’s blessings, the day itself is an oddly secular – and uniquely American – celebration.

Beginning with the obvious, there’s nothing remotely similar to fasting involved, the idea of a Thanksgiving fast another oxymoron. You don’t have to give anything up in order to respectfully honor the day. And you get to watch professional football when the overeating is finished, this of course only after the strong complex female characters and all of their male counterparts – even the Mamet fans – have together cleaned up the mess. There are no presents to be purchased, and there’s nothing remotely controversial about it. Have you ever heard of a store clerk being instructed to say “Happy Harvest Celebration” instead of “Happy Thanksgiving”? Or seen a bumper sticker on a car that reads “Keep the ‘Thanks’ in Thanksgiving”? Of course not. Thanksgiving is beautiful and special this way – it’s inclusive of all people of all faiths, and even of those with no faith.

For the three or four of you who have made it to the end of this ramble, I want to sincerely wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. And hopefully Detroit loses to Green Bay, as the Bears’ road to a wild card berth has become far more difficult with Cutler perhaps out for the rest of the regular season.