Turkey Day, Bush 41, Xmas Preps, a Great Read & More!

Thanksgiving Catch-Up

Since I haven’t published a Short Takes for two weeks, I’m sharing a Thanksgiving dinner photo of yours truly flanked by my two handsome sons, David (with moustache), and Jonathan and grandson, Max.  Absent are my daughter-in-law who took the photo and my granddaughter, Jane.  Max was my sous chef producing mashed potatoes with volumes of butter and cream a la Julia Childs.

Remembering Bush 41

I cringed at the way the mass media and the general public have memorialized Bush 41, focusing on his gentleman behavior while glossing over his war record in Panama and Iraq.  I don’t suppose it would have looked good to have led Bush’s obit with a title like, “Major War Criminal Dies.”

Christmas Preparations

I plan to spend the weekend modestly decorating my home for Christmas.  I will purchase a small table top tree to grace my living room window, scatter a few of my mother’s antique ornaments on table tops, and gather items for stockings for my sons and daughter-in-law.  They’re all middle-aged but protested when I said maybe it was time to do away with Xmas stockings.

My Christmas mantle featuring a framed Santa made by son Jonathan in second grade along with my mother’s antique reindeers

College Basketball

Saturday afternoon my home team of Syracuse (The Orangemen) plays their archrival Georgetown.  I will be glued to ESPN, hoping for a Syracuse win.  The big betters are giving Georgetown the edge, but college sports can be very unpredictable, which adds to the suspense and nail-biting.

A Memorable Novel

I realize the holidays can consume one’s schedule where reading may take a back seat.  For those of you who want to squeeze in reading time I enthusiastically recommend Warlight the latest book by Michael Ondaatje, who won the Booker Prize for The English Patient.  Warlight is a mesmerizing account of two London teenagers during World War ll. Their parents take off under mysterious circumstances leaving the teens in the care of a shady group of characters. Ondaatje delivers an almost flawless rhythm with haunting  poetic images.