11/24/11 Happy Thanksgiving Greenwich

Today is Thanksgiving in Greenwich, an American holiday if ever there was one. It is perhaps the one holiday we celebrate that crosses all lines cultural, spiritual and political.

It is a patriotic holiday, and festive, yet for the most part quiet and lacking in the sort of artifice that has come to embrace so many others.

Merely reaching this day, 11 months into a year that has seen the republic — founded as "these United States" — nearly torn apart, at odds on so many levels, can seem an accomplishment of sorts.

Still, we have the capacity to be drawn together, when needed, to answer the call of tornado victims in Missouri and Alabama, earthquake victims in Japan, or flood victims in New Jersey or Connecticut.

We have grasped cynicism in this country with an iron grip, and for good reason. Our government is too often greedy and dysfunctional, our elected leaders on all levels are tone deaf.

Institutions, from long-hallowed banking halls to long-respected universities, have too many times let us down.

This Thanksgiving we can be thankful that the republic, battered though it may be, remains strong because its foundations were laid with care and certainty and meant to last.

In recent weeks, the Occupy Wall Street movement has grabbed attention both at home and abroad and has indeed spread to nearly every corner of the earth.

Greenwich Roundup would be remiss not to mention it, as the right of protest, the right to address grievances, is at the very heart of who we are as a people.

Whether Greenwichites agree with their cause or their stand, in America, we agree that they have a right, and a place, to make that stand.

These are the freedoms we hold dear, that men and women in uniform have bravely stepped forward to protect. We do not forget them, this day, either, and we are thankful that some Marines and soldiers who have not been stateside during recent Thanksgivings are able this year to spend time with their families and friends.

Of course, in the end, Thanksgiving is about the table.

It is about that uniquely American tradition of sharing the bounty we do have with others who don't: those without their own family to speak of, those who find themselves in our midst a long way from home, those who, for whatever reason, are without steady income and who may not have had a decent meal in weeks.

So we will gather, and we will share what we have.

We will share stories, and we will share remedies for our national plight. We will share memories of Thanksgivings past and favorite recipes passed down.

And if we are in the right mind, we might offer a prayer, or at least a thought for neighbors less fortunate than we, and we might vow to do better by them, to meet them at the course of their need.

This then will be honoring America the beautiful, and America the free.

This will be giving voice to action. This will be upholding the spirit of those who have come before us, and those who will be in our hearts and minds as we sit down to eat our Thanksgiving meal.

These are the traditions of a thankful nation.

Here in Greenwich, we must not take them for granted.

Happy Thanksgiving To You And Your Family!