Give Thanks

Yeah, I know. A lot of people  object  to  Thanksgiving.

There's  controversy  over the origins. Some people  view it as an inappropriate  celebration  of white dominance  over indigenous  peoples.

Some people  see it as a day of disgusting  gluttony.

And others see it as a day of hideous  carnage  of animal flesh.

While some see it as a waste of time.

You also get those for whom it is just plain painful due to loss or lack of loved ones. Or from abusive or prickly family members .

I see it as a day to take a pause and be grateful. Life is hard, but it's  also beautiful. In the midst of sorrow  there is also joy. It must be actively  sought-after  or it will escape our notice.

What could be better  than a day set aside to do this?

Regardless  of its  origins. Regardless  of how its  celebrated and whether  we approve  or not, can we set that aside for a moment and take some time to pause and reflect  on what's  good  in life?

We live in a world of controversy. Must we also argue about this? Can we just listen  to  the  name of the holiday and base it on that?

Thanksgiving. Give thanks and be quiet, please. You'll  enjoy the holiday  much better  if you do.

T7DS

They talk about the seven deadly sins... or, at least, they used to. Nowadays no one really cares about them and would possibly argue whether or not they are actually sins.

Whether they should be or not is a topic for another blog. We can't be too serious here.

Anyway, I was thinking, what are the seven deadly sins of today? If we were to poll people on the street about the most heinous character traits they can think of, the list might look something like this:

Today's 7 Deadly Sins

OR

T7DS

1. Being judgmental. (Unless of course, you're the one doing it, then it's okay.)

2. Withholding things from those who are trying to force those things from you. (That's selfish.)

3. Being optimistic. (Hello, life stinks, don't you know. Only pessimists are realists. And they're not pessimists. They're realists.)

4. Being hypocritical. (This only applies to others, not you.)

5. Being in the majority. (Only the perceived majority -- if you are considered being in the minority, even if you are not actually in the minority, but you are perceived as in the minority, and you aren't any more, that is still okay. If you are perceived as the majority, and you are actually in the minority now, that is not okay.)

6. Being virtuous. (Because obviously, virtuous people are judging everyone else, right? See T7DS #1.)

7. Being boring. (Some people see this as synonymous with T7DS #6, but there are subtle differences. I mean, you can be un-virtuous and boring at the same time.)

So, today I'm going to come to the defense of those guilty of  T7DS #7. Because, I mean, really, who can argue with the first six?

I submit being boring is not the worst thing a person could be.

Is being boring really worse than being selfish, pessimistic, cynical, critical, arrogant, deceitful or  rude? A person who drives you crazy, winds you up and makes you want to commit to a homicide is definitely not boring. Those people are the ones who really make me wonder if being boring is such a bad thing.

But I know people who would say yes. I know people who would rather have anything than boring.

Some of my favorite people are what the world calls boring. They aren't covered in tattoos or pierced all over and their hair isn't purple. They don't go to protests and they don't get into political or religious arguments on social media. They don't live alternative lifestyles (gasp!), whatever that is (One could make the argument that today's alternative lifestyle is being married to the opposite sex, having kids after marriage and never divorcing - also, one could argue that this situation is perceived as a majority even if it is an actual minority and therefor qualifies for T7DS #5, but I'm not going there...today.), AND they have regular boring families that do regular boring stuff. (I know, right?)

But despite all this lack of lovely not-boring-ness, they never say clever, nasty things. They don't say interesting things about people who aren't there. They never talk too much and they leave lots of time for other people to respond. They aren't loud or obnoxious, they don't talk over anyone and they treat others with respect. They don't lie, they say it like it is and somehow, even though they are playing straight, they make me feel like I'm loved. These are traits I admire, but then, I hope most people do...

Uh oh... that's T7DS #3....

All time favorite fictional Characters

My brother posted something fun on Facebook, his top ten all time favorite fictional characters. While I intend to post on Facebook, I thought it would be fun to include the list here on my blog because I can make the list longer, and I can make comments. 

1. Mr. Akins (Paul Lynde) in Send Me No Flowers -movie (Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie and you like comedy, you should; it's hysterical. And Paul Lynde does a hilarious job of an oily salesman, but it's what he sells that makes it soooooo funny.)

2. Melanie Hamilton - Gone with the Wind - book, not movie (I always wanted to be Melanie, but alas! no amount of effort seems to overcome my innate sense of un-Melanie-ness.)

3. Elinor Dashwood - Sense and Sensibility - book and movie, mostly the book (I don't know if I've ever related to a character more.)

4. Peppermint Patty from Peanuts comic strip by Charles Shulz (Unfortunately, I also relate to her -- especially when it comes to math, but not sports.)

5. Kermit the Frog during the Sesame Street years (How my childhood heart sympathized with him! I felt I was also in a world gone crazy and trying to bring some sense to it!)

6. Barney Fife acted by Don Knotts From the Andy Griffith Show (Especially when he gets to put his bullet in his gun or when he's in charge or when he's got his hair slicked back and his bow tie on to go courting or... okay, I guess he's funny all the time.)

8. Clem Kadiddlehopper created by Red Skelton - ("FROGS! FROGS!..." Classic.) 

9. Bertie Wooster - P.G.Wodehouse's Wooster and Jeeves series - books and BBC production (Truly, I love how cheerful he is.)

10. The Mother in Family Dog from Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories (I loved her as a teen when I first saw her, but I had no idea how much like her I would eventually become, it makes me want to go jump off a bridge somewhere....)

11. Miss Julia in the books written by Ann B. Ross (I adore when she says, "Far be it from me to judge..." and then she proceeds to judge. Makes me laugh every time. Every time. It's like when people say, "no offense, but..." and then they proceed to say the most offensive thing you can imagine --and of course, they think you are obligated not to be offended because they put that little disclaimer on there.)

12. Miss Marple of Agatha Christie fame. (Nemesis is my favorite)

13. Flavia De Luce in the series written by Alan Bradley (The more any particular book in the series makes me laugh, the more I like it.)

14. Horton in the Dr. Seuss book,  Horton Hatches the Egg (He's reliable. How many real people can you say that about?)

15. Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien (Seriously? Do I need to comment about this one? It should be obvious.)

Okay, so you'll notice most of these fictional characters are humorous in some way. That should surprise no one.

Now, I know people are looking at this blog. You can't fool me. I don't know who you are, but I know you're there. You don't want to admit to checking up on it (can't say as I blame you -- it is an odd one), and you don't want to comment, but I would love to see other people's favorite character lists.  It doesn't have to have 15, it could just be top 5 or 3 or 20 or whatever, so be brave! Write a list! If you want to be really daring, post it in the comments! Gasp!