Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there that’s able to celebrate it, given that this great holiday is celebrated by many millions of people nationwide. Unfortunately, for many people out there, it remains nothing more than a myth, as real as the tooth fairy fantasy.
It’s hard to be thankful for a year that was filled with one of the worst pandemics of our times: poverty, job loss, sickness, chaotic elections, etc.
It’s at the point where many people are now more thankful to just be living than celebrating.
Thanksgiving is like the sun, it’s nothing more than just a sorrowful reminder that sooner or later it’s going to get dark. The nice sunny afternoon is not guaranteed to stay forever. That’s what many of our neighbors go through, some days are warm but some days can really be cold.
To some people, Thanksgiving is like a curse: a grim reminder of failed relationships, lost friends, estranged family relations, broken up homes, failed careers, etc. Many people have given up hope. It’s not easy living life day-by-day, it’s not easy living a life where you don’t have a clue where your next meal is going to come from.
To some of our neighbors, the thought of celebrating something like Thanksgiving was lost a long time ago. There is nothing to celebrate about today. They have abandoned all traditions of celebrating Thanksgiving as we know it, such as sitting all around a big dining table with friends, family, and a big stuffed turkey.
As many of you celebrate this great eating festival, please remember there is someone else out there starving, there is someone out there that would use a little change if possible. It’s not because they are lazy and don’t want to work to earn a good living. The truth of the matter is no one in life ever grows up thinking that one day they will be asking for some help or some way to survive in these tough times.
Everyone has a story to tell. Before we pass judgment on anyone asking for any help during these times, we should take some time and find out how they ended up in that situation in the first place. This is not a rebuke to Thanksgiving but just a sad reminder that this holiday is not meant for everyone.
If you can give or donate, that’s great. But then again, many people need more than that. Sleeping in a tent in November is not fun at all. It’s nothing more than survival for the fittest: a struggle day-in and day-out. It’s the reason why I decided to call it “Thanksliving.”
Living on the streets or in encampments while celebrating Thanksgiving is not that easy, it’s kind of traumatizing to see someone eating something that weighs pounds while you are starving.
How do we justify that and pretend that’s OK and normal while some people are starving?
Happy Thanksgiving? No thanks. You can keep that to yourself. Again everyone has a right to celebrate any holiday they feel like and spend all they want. All some of us are asking for is a little kindness. Trust me, it can make my day and make my Thanksgiving.
A little bit here and a little sympathy there can go a long way in changing the living situation of someone in need, someone going through homelessness, someone living in the streets. You never know, you might even be helping out a runaway who is honestly trying to gather some change and return back home to be back with their families because they can’t stand the city anymore. I have seen this before. Things happen in different ways and for different reasons.
With all that being said, I would like to send great thanks and praise during this holiday season to all our great readers that have been very supportive and appreciative of our street newspaper.
Last but not least, may you have a great and happy Thanksliving and a great year. Thank you.
