Yes it’s that time of the year. Turkey Day, Thanksgiving, That one day of the year that we gorge ourselves on the traditional feast. Front and Center: The Bird!! The American tradition is of course, Turkey dinner with all the trimmings. The list, to be complete, must include: Turkey, Dressing, Mashed Pototatoes and Cranberries. Now from that basic list things get interesting depending on where in this great land you live and of course your own family traditions.

In the South for example, cornbread dressing, greens and more. In our neck of the woods, the upper Midwest, the dressing is a traditional stuffing seasoned with saqe, and we all seem to also add some form of yams or sweet potatoes as well. Our family also holds to a pretty common tradition of the classic green bean casserole: French cut canned green beans mixed with Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup and topped with Durkee’s fried onions.

Many families, ours included, like to add some of their own special dishes. My wife’s family is Swedish, so we always have Swedish potato sausage (if you’ve never had it, it is very good) and the classic Swedish protein, Swedish meatballs. Too many cooks? Not with a menu as large as ours, not at all. We have always followed the American tradition of Pot-Luck style. Now for Thanksgiving, pot luck is a bit of a misnomer; for most families, as with ours, this is a regimented attack on the menu as planned. All duties are doled out, such that the complete meal comes from far and wide with MANY cooks, and no duplicated dishes. One special item on our menu, a perennial favorite is corn pudding. Corn pudding? What the heck is that? Well, I had never heard of it let alone tried it until my first Thanksgiving with my wife’s family 25 years ago. Think cream corn; pudding style. Rich, warm, silky smooth and very, very tasty. Aunt Ollie was the designated cook for corn pudding for decades before I joined the clan, and she continued her duties perfectly, well into her eighties. After her passing, the corn pudding faltered a bit. A few took a stab at it, and at times the no duplicate dishes rule was violated. After a time, our niece Jenny took over and mastered this unique dish. Firm yet smooth and creamy, with the  top browned just so. Perfection in every bite. For all the plenty of this traditional day; food, family and football, it is that first mouthful of corn pudding that defines the day; the holidays are here at last. Yummmmm.

It has often been said that America has a "love affair" with the automobile. I would put to you that once we get behind the wheel and in traffice, love is the farthest thing from our collective minds.
The relationship between people and their cars is a lot like people and their pets. We tend to personify them and make them extensions of ourselves. Up until about a year ago I drove a full sized pick up truck full time. Then I got a job with a serious commute and it made sense to buy a nice small fuel efficient car.
I picked a Honda Fit. Not only is it small, it's design makes it look even smaller.
I was unprepared for the change in my social place on the highway as I drove my shiny new car off the dealer lot.
The first thing I noticed is that there was a sudden increase in tailgating. I mean like every car behind me. If I was in the left lane moving with prevailing traffic, I would still have someone right on my bumper. Not only that, the bigger the vehicle behind me, the more aggressive the tailgating. I didn't get it right away, you know, the thought that driving behavior changes not only based on what someone is driving, but also how they relate on the road to vehicles of different types.
I have also found that I am the target for being cut-off if leave a space between me and the car ahead more than a foot longer than the offending vehicle. I have learned to follow rather closely in rush hour traffic so as to not be passed ten times per mile.
I drive that way I always have, even in my small car, and when cut-off, I tend to return the favor. This is very interesting in that the size and value of the vehicle that has done me wrong has a great deal to do with their response to my returning the favor. Suffice it to say, when I take my little car and swing in front of the semi that just nearly ran me over and "'hit the hooks" the driver's response is to threaten to run me over with his bumper on mine, horn and bright lights flashing. In the words of Mr. Spock, "fascinating". It seems that we equate behavior on the road with the vehicle and not the person. On the highway, size does matter.
Part two of this equation is "value" as in cost of the car. How dare you drive in front of my: Lexus, Accura, Infinity, Cadillac, Beemer or Mercedes with your tiny little S__t Box!!!
The arrogance and disregard for others on the highway is almost uniform with this crowd. As though their ability to "afford" their luxury car sets them above us all, above things like using a turn signal, ever... These behaviours seem to know no racial, ethnic or gender bounds. A trucker drives like a trucker, and little cars are driven, well, like little cars. Beemer drivers are as arrogant on the road as they tend to be walking down the street. The behavior on the road is just an exagerated version of who we are. I like to guess type of vehicle a person drives. It isn't hard to get right. I'm getting pretty good at it. Timid on the street, timid on the highway, likely driving a sub-compact. Worn blue jeans, flannels and a John Deere baseball cap, semi or pick up. .
The alarming thing is that on the street or in the grocery store, we all tend to behave a lot more the same. Get out on the road and our rolling cubicles separate us from those around us. Inside those walls of anonymity we become a caricature of ourselves. The timid, are even more so. The most aggressive? Let's just say it ain't pretty.

  My son, our youngest is taking his driver’s test in a couple of weeks. How can this be? Wasn’t the summer after sixth grade just a few months ago? “Let’s do the Time Warp Again…” Where did those years go, when he could walk under the overhang on the kitchen island without bumping his head? That wasn’t so long ago was it? “Let’s do the Time Warp Again…”

For me, as a dad, the drivers license is the defining moment; the end of dependence. Each time it’s been a bittersweet event. Pride that my child, my son has conquered this milestone, moved one large step closer to manhood, and away from childhood. That’s all good right? Yes, all good, I won’t have to drop what I’m doing at inconvenient times to drop him off, or pick him up, or run him on errands, or a thousand other things.

But now, he’ll just do all that on his own; without us, without me. It’s all a natural progression towards adulthood and complete independence. Right?

“What I’d really like Dad is to borrow the car keys. See ya later can I have them please… and the Cat’s in the Cradle….”

His life will be fuller, his independence will grow, and well, we will spend less time together. I’ll miss that. I know I will. I hope he will too.

I recently posted the following on Facebook:

ENOUGH ALREADY!! We all just listened to an entire year of political commercials..... And now it just moves to Facebook? I can TiVo the commercials away... What do you do here? Suggestions? And by the way... If you check elections for the past half a century, this country is about fifty-fifty. You’re not gonna change any minds posting the party line right or left here. Anyone wanna talk football?

A good number of folks that regularly appear on my wall have been posting all sorts of political commentary. What I find interesting in this is that their postings are usually an exact or nearly exact regurgitation of one TV or Radio personality or another. Often, they will thank some such for “revealing the Truth” about one point or another. Invariably, if you do a little REAL homework, you will find that little of what you hear anywhere from anyone is grounded in the TRUTH.

Now this isn’t a matter of taking sides or professing a particular party affiliation. No, this is simply a matter of reading, researching on government websites that by law must post the facts as they are and accepting that simple truth.

This parroting of stories without any Real knowledge has become rampant.

 It was Ben Franklin who said:
                                
                                “Believe none of what you hear, and half of what you see.”

There are no truer words for the times if you include the reading of “articles, blogs and commentaries” as that which you hear, and of course television as part of what you see.

These rigid stances based on beliefs in party line are so far from what most of us believe. If we talk, one on one, issue by issue, you will find that we agree on about eighty percent of things; eighty percent of things about which we know the hard truth.

We have become so inundated with sound bites and talking points, that we rarely look any deeper, and just take what we are fed at apparent face value. We glom onto our favorite: Columnist, blogger, anchor, commentator, or talk show host, and assume that all we see, read and hear is the truth.

Market share and ratings are what drive our “information train” these days. “The Colbert Report and the Daly Show” have become the primary news source for many of us… REALLY? You think I am kidding? Just ask around. What was once news, is about income, profitability and I repeat, ratings.

A relentless trend in all of this, is the never ending election cycle. Years ago, there was a “Campaign Season.” These seasons were one half, or even one third of what they are today. It now is literally never ending. Last week, ON ELECTION NIGHT, the jousting began. Who is presidential timber? Who will they choose for running mates? If the election (2012) were held today who would win such and such race??

For me, this says it all:

“There’s too much confusion, I can’t get no relief…”

                                Bob Dylan – All Along the Watchtower