Forget all your politics for a while.
Let the color schemes arrive.
I knew it would happen eventually. The American Left and the American Right have moved so far apart that they’ve backed into one another. I heard both MSNBC ranter Keith Olbermann and talk radio screecher Mark Levin shouting about new safety regulations at American airports. I wonder if they know that they agree with one another.
American politics: the best reality show Mark Burnett never produced.
My Mom asked me why I moved so far away, which I’m fairly sure was a rhetorical question. It isn’t because of the absurdity of the American political system, as much as I would enjoy declaring that to be the case. It isn’t for any one reason.
It is because I never felt at home anywhere until I left the States.
The sky here is a different shade of blue. Richer, with a clarity that is almost impossible to explain until you get off the plane on a sunny day from anywhere else in the world.
And there’s a wind as spring turns to summer that comes whispering in from the North. And as summer turns to high it starts to howl, maddeningly.
Every morning I wake up with the sun and caterwauling magpies, kookaburras and lorikeets. And I walk to the bus in the full glory of an Australian spring morning.
But I do miss Thanksgiving and the family and friends and the warmth that comes with it. And I was to lazy to replicate it this year. I’m thankful though.
Thankful that I’m not flying through an American airport.
Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers.
———————————–
As for the accompanying track, what I wrote back in 2008 still applies:
“The latest record from the husband and wife team Mates of State is the perfect example of that latter criteria. There’s nothing groundbreaking or original about “Rearrange Us” – it is just perfectly crafted pop music. It’s wonderfully written. There isn’t a bad track on the record. And it’s perfect to sing-along to. Do you need more? The record kind of got panned by the critics. I don’t know why. It’s as close to a perfect pop album as I’ve heard in years and it was my favorite album of the year. I can give you A Free Man guarantee that if you buy this one from 
you will not be disappointed.
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by Jill/Twipply Skwood
25 Nov 2010 at 22:37
Happy not-Thanksgiving! It does look like it’s beautiful there! I hope you enjoy your dinner, even if it’s not turkey!
Jill/Twipply Skwood´s last blog ..Taking photos while driving- possibly a more socially acceptable hobby than defending meth heads I must have a good hobby around here somewhere
by Coal Miner's Granddaughter
25 Nov 2010 at 22:37
Happy American Thanksgiving to you, too, hon!
I, too, am amazed at the response from EVERYONE regarding the security procedures at the airports here. Doesn’t matter what party affiliations these people carry because every single person I’ve asked who has yet to travel has responded that they completely disagree with the new procedures and that if their children were subjected to any of it, they would probably get arrested. And I have to agree.
What I’m most thankful for is my family, all of my friends, and that I didn’t have to fly this holiday.
And I understand you feeling out of place in America. I have yet to visit Australia, but I can tell you that I have felt the most at home on two little Dutch-Caribbean islands. Someday, I hope my permanent address resides on one of the two.
Coal Miner’s Granddaughter´s last blog ..Giving Thanks
by HereInFranklin
25 Nov 2010 at 22:40
Thanks, Chris. It’s become my favorite holiday. Christmas just has too many expectations and pressures. So there’s a 20 pound turkey in the fridge, two giant pans of cornbread, sausage and pecan dressing and a boatload of people coming over. (I should probably turn off the computer and get to work.)
by headbang8
25 Nov 2010 at 23:28
It’s hard to feel at home in America. A certain 12-Step program I’m fond of talks about that feeling in dysfunctional homes–familiar, yet not comfortable.
America is about restlessness. Change. Creative destruction. Never standing still. Someone should let America know that progress is made by building on what has gone before, not by dismantling it.
When my cousin first travelled abroad to visit us in Australia, she asked if people in other countries hate Americans. “No,” I reassured her, “people don’t hate Americans anywhere near as much as Ameircans hate each other.”
Happy Thanksgiving!
headbang8´s last blog ..Fish- the Translators Nightmare
by muskrat
27 Nov 2010 at 02:40
Hope the football game this weekend makes you thankful. I’m going to leave work in 3hrs to watch mine.
muskrat´s last blog ..sunday morning breaking down
by courtney
27 Nov 2010 at 08:21
I have yet to really feel at home anywhere. I’m glad you found your spot in the world.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too! (I’m pretty sure you’re allowed to celebrate it even if you’re not in the States.)
courtney´s last blog ..Hey Everyone- I Found The Christmas Spirit Early This Year
by Agnes
27 Nov 2010 at 08:22
Still love that MoS album.
by Seattledad (Luke, I am Your Father)
28 Nov 2010 at 16:23
Happy Non Thanksgiving to you. Sounds divine there. Glad you are feeling at home somewhere. That is always a great feeling.
Seattledad (Luke, I am Your Father)´s last blog ..Fell on Holi-daze
by rassles
29 Nov 2010 at 15:25
I can’t afford to travel, so I’m not too worried just yet.
H to the Turkey.
rassles´s last blog ..The McFly Syndrome- Or- The Devolution of Sally to Four Loko