Blog #455                      November 27, 2025

 

Happy Thanksgiving Day to every one of you.  Thanksgiving is a unique and introspective day where we give voice to all the blessings we have.  We are truly thankful for our family and friends; I don’t need to tell you that.  And as for those that we have lost and sorely miss, they are blessings as well. “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”  That’s a quote, believe it or not, from Dr. Seuss, my favorite poet, and it should remind us to be grateful for the memories that mean so much to us.  We are also thankful for our own lives.  Yes, we may have health issues -- aches, pains or more serious challenges – but look at it this way, we’re doing the best we can, we’re still here and we are way better off than the turkey.  And, yes, there are people who are richer, younger, better-looking.  But we have love and warmth and a wonderful meal to share. 

 

Message from Shakespeare, the three-legged cat:  Well then, if ever I thank any man, I'll thank you (As You Like It).  I was just an abandoned and crippled orphan when Pops found me at the shelter.  If today is what you call Thanksgiving, then I give my thanks to him for giving me warmth and love and a purr-fect home.  Purr.

 

The Thanksgiving meal is my favorite – turkey, dressing, gravy, apple pie. The best!  Every year at the Thanksgiving meal, Carol makes us all recite the things we are thankful for, and I have tried to do that in the paragraph above.  I have read the paragraph many times and I can only feel it inadequate to express my emotion each year on this holiday.  Forgive my inadequacy and accept my sincere best wishes for you all.  So let’s have fun and carve up that bird!

And speaking of carving, I just read that Germany has officially declared circumcision an act of “bodily harm” and has banned the procedure.  The article goes on to say that Germany’s 4,000,000 Muslims and 100,000 Jews are protesting the decision.  100,000 Jews?  That’s all Germany has?  I wonder why.  Maybe it’s because the Germans murdered all their Jews.  So now Germany joins San Francisco in banning circumcision.  I have no axe to grind here (wow, that’s an ugly metaphor under the circumstances) but it seems that 6,000 years of circumcision haven’t hurt the Jews much.

 

It’s fascinating how much our species thrills in ecstasy over the possibility of life on Mars or Saturn, while at the same time destroying life on Earth with abandon.  We pollute the environments of our own plants and animals, cut down their forests, poison their rivers and lakes, eat them or just shoot them for fun.  We would spend a trillion dollars to preserve a Martian amoeba and comparatively nothing to save the magnificent life of this planet.  We have destroyed everything we touch, except the sun, moon and the starry skies which God in His wisdom has hung beyond our reach.  At least until now.

 

Welcome back, you magnificent life forms.  Glad you could make it.  I hope you all are well and not bored.  Sometimes I fear that my rambling thoughts can be boring, even though some of our nation’s other magnificent life forms seem to prefer it that way.  You see, now with winter approaching, I have been receiving a large number of requests for subscriptions.  They’re mostly from bears actually.

 

My Limerick Oyster creation

Is wanted all over the nation

But mostly by bears

‘Cause each of them swears

The blog will bring on hibernation.

 

But don’t fall asleep yet.  I have more to talk about. Like movies.  Movie Review:  Carol and I went to a movie this week.  The theater had a special on Tuesdays --$6.00 per ticket plus free popcorn.  We went to the 11:30 showing of Nuremberg starring Russell Crowe and Rami Malek.  We bought the tickets ($13 with tax), got our popcorn (free and delicious), and I asked for a soda.  “That’ll be $8.10,” said the virago behind the counter.  $8.10 for a one dollar soda?  That’s preposterous, but I paid anyway.  Popcorn goes best with a Diet Coke.  When I and my cup arrived, however, at the drink dispenser, we were met with the pernicious sign that read We Serve Pepsi Products.  Pepsi?  $8.10 for a Pepsi?  If they had given me $8.10, I wouldn’t drink a Pepsi.  I found a Root Beer tap, and settled for that.

 

Everyone I know has seen the movie and thought it was wonderful.  I thought it was ok.  Russell Crowe, who played Hermann Göring, was absolutely sensational and captivating, but the rest of the cast was unimpressive.  The story was good, but some of the messaging was objectionable in my view.  Anyway, it was ok and it was fun and the popcorn was good.

 

Weekly Word:  A virago is a domineering, violent or bad-tempered woman.

 

You know, with writing a limerick every week and some occasional songs or poems, I have to be acutely aware of what rhymes with what.  So I was lying in bed the other night, unable to fall asleep, and I began to think how many different ways there were to spell a word that rhymes with “boo”.  This is what I came up with while lying in bed:

 

EW                       as in   anew, few, new, renew, outgrew, mildew, withdrew

EWE                    as in   ewe

IEU                      as in   lieu

IEW                      as in   view, preview

IOUX                   as in   Sioux

O                          as in   do, undo

OE                        as in   gumshoe

OO                       as in   zoo, hullabaloo, igloo, kangaroo

OU                       as in   you

OUGH                  as in   through

OUP                     as in   coup

U                          as in   Xanadu

UE                        as in   blue

UEUE                  as in   queue

US                        as in   jus

 

As a bonus, if you look at all the “as in” words, you will see there are 26 of them, each one beginning with a different letter of the alphabet.  Well, I have nothing else to do.

 

And now, on this Thanksgiving Day, I’m going to give you something to be truly thankful for – I’m going to stop.  So go back to your cooking and your family, your football and your Macy’s Parade.  Stay well and count your blessings.  This is the day for it.  Have a great one.

 

Michael                                    Send comments to mfox1746@gmail.com