‘Twas the night before Thanksgiving – and what should I write?
A piece about presidents? A line about Sprites?
The week was away and the Guests for next day…
How to amend my deep thoughts for Monday!
Thanksgiving Memories:
I enjoyed writing this little quip for this piece. Something about the holidays, makes you nostalgic for the childhood memories. You want the turkey “high” and the real whipped cream for your pumpkin pie. You expect the holiday favorites on the table, the atmosphere full of smells, colors, family and friends. And if you have young children, you expect the hand-turkeys and paper cornucopias on the frig. I have fond memories of the Thanksgiving fun we would have in elementary school. I grew up in S California and I can recall those costumes we would make for Thanksgiving. The black construction paper top hats for the boy pilgrims, the white construction paper collar and bonnet for the girl pilgrims. Then the highly decorated paper bag “vest” and paper feather head bands for the Indians. We would wander around the room and look at each other in our hard work and be proud, as only six year olds can be. Not to mention just being “cute as a button”! Our Thanksgiving history, like so much of our American history, has been as “purified” as the Puritans were. We all visualize a peaceful, rustic first meal that some of our early American Ancestors shared with their Indian neighbors. So very dignified… Disney-fied more like!
Why Immigrate?
But if you read the story of our first Harvest Feast, it is amazing that any of the Mayflower passengers survived at all. What would cause someone to risk the ocean crossing for a land they knew little about, arriving in the dead of winter? As the distant “relatives” of these early colonists, the act of immigration has become a hot topic in the United States of America. Debates over our borders can get many people hot-under-the-”paper”-collar, depending on which side of the political fence you stand on, figuratively and literally! So it seemed to me that a quick jaunt down History lane might help US better understand why people immigrate. Double entendre intended!
Thanksgiving 2022 – Tradition, Origins & Meaning – HISTORY
What’s the Difference Between Puritans and Pilgrims? – HISTORY FYI
The Mayflower.
The Mayflower left Plymouth, England, on Sept 16th, 1620. “Sailing for more than two months across 3,000 miles of open ocean, the 102 passengers of the Mayflower—including three pregnant women and more than a dozen children—were squeezed below decks in crowded, cold and damp conditions, suffering crippling bouts of seasickness, and surviving on meager rations of hardtack biscuits, dried meat and beer… The crew would occasionally let some of the passengers up on deck to get some fresh air, but on the whole, the Pilgrims were treated like cargo.” Sounds like a tagline from some cruise pamphlet. Ahhh, no.
What Was Life Like Aboard the Mayflower? – HISTORY
Sailing Conditions…
Since I am not a sailor, my knowledge of this is based on media renditions I have seen or read. I personally have a thing for period pieces and real-life movies. I therefore really enjoyed Master and Commander, The Far Side of the World. I enjoyed the science of how they determined their location using a sextant, using a knotted rope to determine their speed and the desperate conditions when trapped in the Doldrums with no wind. But what I really “liked” was the reality of ship life. The cramped living quarters, the hard work of the crew, and the horrific conditions of sailing during a storm. I would NOT have been a sailor, gender notwithstanding.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) – IMDb
Even in today’s day and age, sailing in the open ocean is still dangerous, regardless of the new-fangled gadgets we have in our high-tech society. Why do people do it? Risk life and limb, family and home, to make a go in another land? Let’s find out…
The Passengers on the Mayflower.
For the Separatists on the Mayflower, it was all about religious freedom. The Church of England, closely based on Catholism, had strict rules about attendance, life, dress, etc. There were also punishments for not attending. They chose to risk the passage for the freedom to worship as they pleased. For the rest of the 60+/- passengers, it was about a new life and the chance of land ownership, or just good-old-fashioned wander lust.
What did it cost them to make that crossing under such adverse conditions? One died on the trip over. One was born on the trip over. “Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring.”*
*Thanksgiving 2022 – Tradition, Origins & Meaning – HISTORY
The Mayflower Story | Mayflower (mayflower400uk.org)
Life at sea in the age of sail | Royal Museums Greenwich (rmg.co.uk)
Fictional Oceanic Crossings…
These were the sailing conditions of 200-400 years ago. Even the early missionaries in Michener’s historically based book Hawaii risked hazardous sailing conditions in service for their faith. The severe conditions seem little worth it to me, a comfortably housed, warm and well-fed person. But one man’s tolerances are another man’s hell. And if your life seems little worth living, then maybe risking the past life for a brighter future in ____ is something you would consider risking your life for.
Hawaii by James A. Michener (goodreads.com) I read this for my trip to Hawaii. Yeah, don’t wanna sail!
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (goodreads.com) A childhood favorite. Also NOT pro-sailing conditions!
Holiday Wishes:
Now since this is a holiday week, and I had other agendas to attend to, this is all I will “ponder” for now. Next week, I will get into the MODERN reasons to risk life and limb for the Great Land Beyond. Hope your Holiday went well! Blessings!
