Amongst...My Fondest....Of Memories Poem by James B. Earley

Thanksgiving, by far, is my favorite holiday. Not because of its obvious epicurean significance, but rather a decades-old spiritual epiphany that indelibly lent a lasting consciousness.

Arriving San Francisco (my new home)the last Friday of October 1956 with little money, and not knowing a soul west of the Mississippi River, I secured lodging in a Fillmore District rooming house. Prior to departing my Illinois home, I was advised that my unemployment compensation benefits were transferable, that once in California I should immediately file application with the responsible authority. Upon arrival, the State Department of Employment confirmed that I was indeed eligible, but processing would take a few weeks to execute, and that my first check would be the Monday morning following Thanksgiving Day.

Resources dwindling, I prepaid my room rent, and with the meager funds remaining, purchased cans of creamed-style corn (my favorite) to tide me over at the consumption rate of one per day. Around mid-afternoon each day I would partake of this rationed allowance.

Thanksgiving morning, I awoke to punishing aromas of all sorts of savory happenings, wafting painfully throughout the surrounding neighborhood. Longingly, I imagined the meal my family back home was destined to enjoy - envisioning turkey and trimmings, pies and cakes, with all the sundry accoutrements of the moment.

That afternoon, having dined on my "significant" can of corn, I took a stroll around the block. Alone with my thoughts, I suddenly realized that though the can of corn had indeed satiated my physical appetite, it did nothing to assuage the lingering sense of spiritual hunger so desperately engaged. That dramatic enlightenment exploded with the realization that the "Thanksgiving Experience" is not simply about the meal; rather, it is that shared companionship with family and friends.

Over the years I've come to appreciate the notion that Thanksgiving Day is an officially sanctioned happening, affording all the opportunity, and indeed the privilege to pause and reflect upon life and circumstance. We're encouraged to set aside whatever arrogance of the moment, and in that critical disposition perhaps grasp a clearer understanding that despite whatever difficulty surrounds, life is still the most precious commodity - and family and friends, its central components. We are urged to grasp the significance of this delectable bounty we individually hold, the magnificence of its creation, and indeed the splendor of its existence.