Overflowing with Thanks

Nashville With Three Sisters

Clem and I had a family Thanksgiving with our daughter Beth, her husband Kelvin and their three children, at the home of his mother in Nashville. She had two of her three sisters visiting from Chicago. Kelvin’s step-brother Carl stopped in to share the meal.

To say there was plenty of food is an understatement! The table was overflowing with turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese, green beans, candied sweet potatoes (the contribution from Beth and me), two kinds of greens, creamed corn, rolls, cornbread, and ham, and I’m probably forgetting a couple!

Kelvin’s mom Elouise and her sisters Louise and Marion had a lot of the food already prepared when we arrived on Wednesday evening. Then they were up very early on Thanksgiving morning to continue preparations.

I loved being with family.

And I loved the turkey and candied sweet potatoes I brought home, which Clem and I had for supper after flying home today.

I hope you had a happy Thanksgiving, or a good week if you didn’t celebrate this American holiday.

With Thanksgiving Over

Time to start thinking about Christmas gifts – or maybe I’m way behind and you’re already done!

Nicholas Kristof offers his annual holiday gift guide in The New York Times. His suggestions are for, “presents more meaningful than a tie or sweater.”

It’s a little like my Grandma Charity Challenge that I prepared four years ago to encourage my grandchildren to think about charitable contributions for Christmas.

He mentions Heifer, always a favorite for children’s gift-giving. And I love his second idea: “. .$74 through CARE (care.org) pays for a schoolgirl’s books and supplies so she can attend school for a year — and girls’ education may be the highest-return investment available in the world today.”

Pope Francis in Kenya

The Mail & Guardian Africa says that Pope Francis, in East Africa, did not mince words when addressing the crowds.

“Francis lashed out at wealthy minorities who hoard resources at the expense of the poor as he visited a crowded Nairobi slum on Friday, wrapping up the first-leg of a three nation tour.

“The 78-year-old pontiff was given a rapturous welcome as he arrived in Kangemi, which is home to more than 100,000 people who live in shacks without sewerage, including 20,000 who belong to the local Catholic parish.”

Thousands lined up before dawn to be sure of seeing the pontiff!

“The Talk” for White Parents

You may be familiar with the term “The Talk,” or remember it from a recent post. John Metta told us in his recent talk why black parents talk to their young children about race.

He said, “Racism is the fact that ‘White’ means ‘normal’ and that anything else is different. Black children learn this when their parents give them ‘The Talk.’ . . When they are sat down at the age of five or so and told that their best friend’s father is not sick, and not in a bad mood- he just doesn’t want his son playing with you.”

What a privilege white parents have. We don’t have to prepare our children for facing prejudice. But do we have to give them a talk about race? If so, what to say?

I don’t recall an explicit talk from my parents, but I do recall believing at age 5 that it was my responsibility to show acceptance to the one black child who joined our otherwise all-white class.

Maybe it’s something like this: “You and I are white. Many people in our neighborhood (town) (country) are not white. And sometimes people who aren’t white are treated badly. 

“White people like you and me can do some things that others can’t. We can go into any store and walk around without anyone following us. People who aren’t white can’t always do this. Often someone in the store will watch or even follow them around, because the store people don’t trust them.”

Maybe we can say, “You and I didn’t ask for this privilege of being white. But we have it, and we can use it to make our town (country) more fair for people who don’t have it.”

Then we have the hard job of learning how we can use our white privilege to discourage racism. No easy answers here! But I did include a couple of suggestions in recent blogs – look at this or this.

Hope in Nigeria

Financial Times writer William Wallis describes Buhari’s new administration. Wallis says, “Mr Buhari picked his cabinet himself, undercutting the powerful governors of the 36 states in the federation who since the restoration of civilian rule in 1999 have traditionally nominated their own favoured candidates, in line with a constitutional requirement that each state is represented.

“Nor did he pander to factions within his own APC party, preferring instead, according to close associates, to take advice from trusted aides to build the solid team of technocrats and politicians that finally emerged in early November after more than five months of wrangling.”

He generally gives the new team a positive review.

The Economist’s recent issue also has a piece on Buhari’s new cabinet. The writer said, “The law was laid down for Nigeria’s ministers when they were sworn into office . . No corruption, their austere president, Muhammadu Buhari, told them. Obey the law and work together, because expectations are high.”

There was an air of optimism in the article, even though the new minister of finance is said to be, “poorly qualified.”

I look forward to more positive news from my adopted country. Maybe it will be soon! I just learned that PBS NewsHour will start a series on Nov 30th about Nigeria, called “Nigeria: Pain & Promise.”