Thanksgiving, 2006

143 years ago, “in the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity”, Abraham Lincoln put aside thoughts of anger or despair and proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving. Surely the problems facing our nation today are small beer compared to those that beset Lincoln (adjusting for growth in the American population, the 600,000 soldier deaths during the Civil War are equivalent to 6 million war dead today). Lincoln was able to lift his eyes to the “blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies”, and so should we.

Yesterday, however, the skies were hazy all the way down to Los Angeles. Highway 5 was crowded with impatient travelers tailgating the trucks and campers who were poking along at 65 mph. 65 looked pretty good when we hit northern L.A. near Magic Mountain, and the traffic ground to a halt. 32 million people were traveling by car yesterday, and a lot of them were on Highway 5. As we crept along for the next three hours, my traveling companion said over and over again, “I couldn’t stand living here”. Well, we don’t, and although millions upon millions of people obviously feel differently, the fact that we don’t live in Southern California is reason to be grateful.

We arrived at La Jolla nine hours after we started. Our student was happy to see us, and we him. We went to dinner at an upscale campus watering hole, the kind that serves designer beers and fusion cuisine. We checked into the hotel, and I was out when my head hit the pillow.

The charges from this long weekend would have caused me to blanch 30 years ago, but now I regard them with equanimity. Another reason to be thankful (no, not for my bank account---just my attitude!) © 2006 Stephen Yuen

Residence Inn, La Jolla, on Thanksgiving morning