E D I T O R ’ S N O T E
AMERICANWAY
NOVEMBER 15 2008
14
memory, as evidenced by the
general eye-rollingofmy friends
after each recitation. But as we
head into the holiday season,
two ofmy favorites strikeme as
beingapropos.
In November 2001,
Time
magazine’s Nancy Gibbs wrote
a moving Thanksgiving cover
story. I remember sitting at my
father’s kitchen table inTucson,
Arizona, and studying that story
while Imicrowaved leftover tur-
key. It ran during a time when
families nationwide were gath-
ering to share in the abundance
— both culinary and familial
— that the Thanksgiving holi-
day traditionallybrings andwas
a commentary on the intense
patriotism they feltas theygath-
ered to celebrate that fall. The
first line of Gibbs’s story imme-
diately set the tone for the7,000
words that followed: “Thanks-
giving has always been a feast
day for thegods of paradox.”
And it has. We don’t always
like taking a trip on the busiest
travel days of the year, butwhen
we get towherewe’re going, we
realize it’s all been worthwhile.
We dread the visit from those
relatives we choose not to talk
about, yet we miss them when
they’re gone. And we elect to
remember only the good times
— isn’t selective memory great
sometimes? — while giving
thanks for all our blessings,
good fortune, and rights.
Gibbs’s lead has become a
one-liner in my lexicon. But
here’s another, and I think it
dovetails nicely with Gibbs’s
point aboutThanksgiving:
“What you lookingatme for?
Ididn’t come to stay…”
It’s a passage from a legend
of a book that speaks about a
bygone time in American his-
tory. Maya Angelou, whom we
arehonored tohavegracingour
cover, has long been considered
one of our literary treasures.
This opening line from her
seminal book
I KnowWhy the
Caged Bird Sings
has a signifi-
cantmeaning forme, especially
around the holidays. Angelou
was talking about her life in the
JimCrowSouthandhow itwas
so oppressive that she couldn’t
imagine aunitedUnitedStates.
But now, in contemporary
times, as we stare down the
barrel of another calendar year,
we’ve finally wrapped up one
of the most historic and im-
portant presidential elections
in our nation’s history. And
as we gather around dining-
room tables across the country
and celebrate the holiday with
freshly baked pumpkin pie, the
challenge will be to foster that
same sense of family and coun-
trywe feel now for thenext 364
days. Nancy Gibbs knows this.
AndMaya Angelou knows this
— only toowell, which is why I
encourageyou to readour cover
story, “Giving Thanks,” and re-
flect uponwhat you’re thankful
for.
So as you’re readying your-
self for whatever Thanksgiving
travel awaits you and as you’re
steeling yourself for the com-
motion that is a family reunion,
take pleasure in all the food,
the football, and every last one
of those idiosyncratic relatives.
For maybe this is the year that
some of the Thanksgiving holi-
day spirit comes to stay.
From time to time, I’ll readapassage inabookor amagazine
that stickswithme. Always the voracious reader— ever since
overcoming dyslexia as a youth— I have a profound fascina-
tionwith thewrittenword, with the innatepowerwords have
when strung together in just the right way. Granted, I prob-
ably have toomany little passages and caveats committed to
AThanksgivingFeast
AdamPitluk
Editor
Want to signup for free e-mail
notificationofAdam’s columns or
to seepast columns?Go to
/
whatsnew
.
