I grew up in an inner ring suburb that was both beautiful and grungy...

[WCGreen]

I imagine it would be like Brooklyn, urban neighborhoods with small yards criss crossed with several main drags that was full of small shops.

We lived close in to Cleveland and so it was easy to jump on a bus or, our version of the subway, the Rapid Transit and go downtown to the huge library, the second hand book stores and all the specialty shops that were too unique to survive in the outer edges of the over all community.

Downtown was close to the sprawling industrial flats which belched out untreated waste into the air and water...

All those particulates drifted down on the city and so I remember how dim and dingy the city was.

I think that is why when I look back on my life in Cleveland there are two distinct periods.

The time when my world was shades of grey and then when my family moved to the plush outer ring suburb that was still producing fruit and vegetables sold in the local markets. It was like I walked into a lush Technicolor world.

I use to think it was because of the Black and White TV but now I realize just how dingy life was but 40 years ago.

I was reminded of this when I thought about where I was when JFK was assassinated. I remember that whole long episode in Black and White. Maybe it was the TV but thinking back, the school I went to was drab, old all ready in the early 60's, the snow was always dingy, the trees were dulled by the onslaught of the air pollution just a few miles away.

As I get older, I try to look back on my life, as I suppose many people do as well, and see where I came from. Especially around Thanksgiving because that Holiday is all about looking back where we came from. And I am not just talking about the Pilgrims. It's our one holiday that is about looking inward, to explore where we are and where we are going.

Having said all that, I just want to wish all of you a good, reflective Thanksgiving, to take a look where we are now as a people, how far we have come and how much, much more we have ahead of us. We are in, as we all can see, a critical point in our history. What I hope and yes prayer for this holiday is that we as a people find the courage to embrace the future and not retreat into a past that was dominated by hatred and parochial interests.

[leveymg]

1. The cities in China today are black-and-white TV. That soot was jobs.

Might even trade Technicolor to get some of those back.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Beautifully said, Chris...

You make some truly valid points.

Tomorrow we'll gather to eat and talk and share our different perspectives over some great cooking!

It is an excellent time to take stock of us individually, and of us as a Nation...

There will be no political quarreling tomorrow, for this part of my family is pretty liberal.

That does make it a lot more fun!

I hope that you and yours will have a wonderful holiday, wherever you celebrate it!

:hi:

[lpbk2713]

3. "... and when it would rain there's a rainbow"

I couldn't help but think of S&G.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxuEr_p8Z4o

[WCGreen]

4. It was a stark distinction that I could never quite come to grips with...

I missed my easy access to city and all the excitement it held.

I was isolated, thrown into a world that I never truly belonged in.