A friend writes:
Being inundated by allusions to the original Thanksgiving meal of the religious settlers with the Indians, I thought I'd send an inspiring excerpt from a book by Tony Horowitz on real U.S. history, A Voyage Long And Strange: Rediscovering The New World:
"By the time the first English settled, other Europeans had already reached half of the forty-eight states that today make up the continental United States. One of the earliest arrivals was Giovanni da Verrazzano, who toured the eastern seaboard in 1524, almost a full century before the Pilgrims arrived. Even less remembered are the Portuguese pilots who steered Spanish ships along both coasts of the continent in the sixteenth century, probing upriver to Bangor, Maine, and all the way to Oregon. In 1542 Spanish conquistadors completed a reconnaissance of the continent's interior: scaling the Appalachians, rafting the Mississippi, seeing the Grand Canyon and galloping as far inland as central Kansas.
"The Spanish didn't just explore: they settled from the Rio Grande to the Atlantic. Upon founding St. Augustine, the first European city on U.S. soil, the Spanish gave thanks and dined with Indians, 56 years before the Pilgrim Thanksgiving at Plymouth.
"Plymouth, it turned out, wasn't even the first English colony in New England. That distinction belonged to Fort St. George in Popham, Maine. Nor were the Pilgrims the first to settle Massachusetts. In 1602 a band of English built a fort on the island of Cuttyhunk. They came not for religious freedom but to get rich from digging sassafras, a commodity prized in Europe as a cure for the clap.
"The Pilgrims and later the Americans who pushed west from the Atlantic didn't pioneer a virgin wilderness. They occupied a land long since transformed by European contact.
Samoset, the first Indian the Pilgrims met at Plymouth, greeted the settlers in English. The first thing he asked for was beer."
Comments & Critiques:
Mike: What absolute tripe! I don't believe a word of this any more than I believe the world is round. -- X98
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Damn, Mike. If you tell me there isn't really a Santa Claus, I'll blow my brains out -- Zoey
There is a Santa, only he outsourced his North Pole operation to China when the elves wanted to unionize, the little Socialists. Also, the Tea Party patriots were uneasy about Santa’s commie red suit. So this year your presents will come wrapped in rice paper. -- MB
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Speaking as a European, albeit with extensive ties to the United States, I can only remark upon the sadness reading something like this makes me. Yes, these are all historical facts...it is also a fact that one could make a case that the day could be viewed as "Happy Sorry We Took Your Land and Killed Your People Day", but that would throw out the proverbial baby with the bath water. In a time of such polarised conflict and childish bickering and one-up-manship based on ideology as opposed to actual caring...Americans need Thanksgiving more than ever. Thanksgiving is a day about family and traditions and extending a hand in friendship or aid to a less fortunate neighbour...it is also...at its base...a day for remembering how fortunate one is...this cynical man should be ashamed. -- LS
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The English just had better press -- Canids
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We could be having southwest Indian tamales or any number of Creole dishes for Thanksgiving! Whatever it is I'm thankful for it all, and even though my daughter, my favorite houseguest and BFF these days, could not make it home, I am thankful for my high school friend PJ and her college friend Patricia who will be joining us. And I'm thankful that my daughter will be here for a couple of weeks at Christmas. I'll think of you while I'm scarfing down my smoked Cornish game hen and sweet potatoes with brown sugar and pecans. Have a great day, Mike! -- Barb
And I'll think of you when scarfing down my microwaved turkey pot pie. Smarty. -- MB
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Thanks Mike! Turkey is for everyone? Stay wonderfilled!! -- Kent & Barbara
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Lest we forget, it was Squanto who saved the Pilgrims’ asses that first awful winter from starving to death when he showed them how to stick a fish head in with each grain of corn when they planted, and then had them tie up one leg of all the dogs in the settlement -- Sky Pilot
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Still think the Homeland Security and Border Patrol of my ancestors sucked. They didn't do a very good job of keeping the riffraff out. They were too darn civilized if you ask me.-- WishLady
Well, there was no Transportation Security Administration groping immigrants in those days. -- MB
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Been meaning to drop a note; thanks for your stories Mike. Somehow they make me feel safe in this very manic crazy world. Thanks a million; they mean a lot.
Be blessed tomorrow and throughout this coming year -- Jan
Safe? Jan, I'm contributor to the manic and crazy. -- MB
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" In 1602 a band of English built a fort on the island of Cuttyhunk. They came not for religious freedom but to get rich from digging sassafras, a commodity prized in Europe as a cure for the clap."
Well thank GOD for the greedy English... this accomplishment is something to be thankful for! Happy Turkey, Turkey -- Web
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Happy thanksgiving to you. Point of interest: I think the Indians discovered of America. -- MaryPat
Not according to the Chinese, who were seeking a new market for noodles and running shoes and claimed to have landed on California's shores centuries before the Europeans. -- MB
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You know, this really doesn't impress me. I'm Canadian born and we have Thanksgiving too, in October. It's a time of families coming together, of reflection and also a time for noticing the changing of the seasons. It's a reward for a harvest, good, fair or stretched.
This friend of yours doesn't seem to be real connected emotionally to this holiday and I feel sorry for him for that. But since attitude is also a personal choice, it's like, "Oh come on, dude. What difference does this historical shyte make? It's a cool holiday with some nice thoughts behind it. Get a life!" -- Rusty
Or a microwaved turkey pot pie. -- MB
