“Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday,” she said firmly, “because it’s not about buying presents or patriotism or somebody’s religion or drinking large amounts of alcohol. It’s just about family.” – a character in my forthcoming novel WHEN I GOT OUT
The Tiny Goddess and I got out of the country for Thanksgiving on a temporary vacation from Trumpland.
We came back to the fiasco of GOP “Tax Reform” -- boosting the super-rich and their heirs, and sticking it to the middle class, the poor, the sick, graduate students, Puerto Rico (!) and even school teachers. It’s “cartoonishly evil,” just as the Editorial Board of The New York Times said. And “Pocahontas” again. Maybe we should have stayed away.
We went with the family to the TG’s Sister’s fabulous place in Querataro, Mexico.
I’ve blogged before about the wonders of the Centro Historico section of Queretaro (http://peterseth.com/blog/243-queretaro-the-best-kept-secret-in-mexico.html), and everything I wrote before still applies. When you are a UNESCO World Heritage site, change is frowned upon. In fact, it’s illegal.
Out of the country, in this bewitching, serene setting, I had a chance to pause, appreciate my micro-life, and be thankful for the blessings in my life, great and small.
*My family: my two “blondies” – my wife and my grandson. My son and my daughter. My incredible Daughter-in-Law. My brother. My extended family, especially my Sister-in-Law, the amazing hostess/designer/magician/force-of-nature. And a few great friends.
“Think where man's glory
Most begins and ends
And say my glory was
That I had such friends.” – W.B. Yeats, The Municipal Gallery Revisted
*Work that I love.
*My health.
*Security. A home I love, going on twenty-eight years.
*A good dog.
*A convertible.
*Music, all the time, whenever I want. (Great live music in LA. Always the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and sometimes the Los Angeles Opera.)
*Yoga, four times a week.
*Two Trader Joe’s nearby.
*The Dodgers. (76 days until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training.)
And –
I’m very grateful that Robert Mueller and his team are on the job.
I’m grateful for all the Resisters – the people of MoveOn and Indivisible. All the activists. Act Blue and Working Families and all the organizations who fill my inbox every day, asking for donations. Inside and outside the Democratic Party.
I’m grateful for the work of Paul Krugman, Rachel Maddow, Joy Reid, Lawrence O’Donnell, Charles Blow, Gail Collins, Robert Reich, and countless other writers and journalists (with a special nod to in-the-line-of-fire CNN) for keeping alive the fight against Trump and the GOP.
And I’m cautiously grateful for the results of this year’s Election Day. Perhaps in 2018, the Good America that I believe exists will rise up and turn against the GOP. For good.
WIKIPEDIA’S ENTRY ON QUERETARO
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Querétaro
TRIP ADVISOR – TOP TEN THINGS TO DO IN QUERETARO
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g479232-Activities-Queretaro_City_Central_Mexico_and_Gulf_Coast.html
LONELY PLANET’S QUERETARO PAGE
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/northern-central-highlands/queretaro
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