Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here in the US. I have a lot to give thanks for, but this holiday always makes me a bit melancholy too. Thinking of the decimation of the Native Americans that were so generous to help the arrivals to the new world, never fails to come to mind when celebrating. I'm reminded that my ancestors were part and parcel of this genocide, even though later quite a few married into different tribes. Perhaps its an ancestral memory that makes me so melancholy, having Native blood (however watered down it is at this point) along with the dichotomy of the blood of my ancestors that were part of the first settlers here? I don't mean to make this morbid or a lecture of any kind, but if you feel so inclined, this Thanksgiving say a little prayer of respect for the Native Americans who helped the first settlers have their first Thanksgiving, then were decimated for the privilege of helping. (For reference please read Russell Means book, "Where White Men Fear to Tread". Means has been quoted as saying "Indians are dying of sympathy, what we want is RESPECT".)

XXX

Jet