Beyond Feast Intended

“When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. “(Tecumseh)

Jackson typically led a quietly unspectacular life in his small, Midwestern Iowa hometown. His favorite times happened in those private moments of worshipping at church, walking his dog, and spending quality time with the family. As he never imagined himself as the type for lavish social celebration, the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday for him normally seemed to be a foolish facade of food – filled excess. Yet there had been earlier signs that Jackson wanted to “break out” of his self confining shell. For in October, he began to deliver overstuffed food baskets and Corona preventive masks to homeless people as a volunteer advocate downtown. Clearly, he had demonstrated on those occasions, a stronger compassion awareness for these poverty stricken pawns of the system. As the Corona pandemic deepened again in his surrounding community in early November,  Jackson’s new activism began to manifest in other ways. For he began to engage in vehement,  public protest speeches on social media in response to encountering town residents who were not wearing their masks or taking socially distanced gatherings seriously.

Jackson’s changing persona of assertiveness would continue to intensify during his latest food basket “run”on the day before Thanksgiving. For what pangs of guilt would drive him to embrace Freddie, a talented homeless man who bellowed out offensive rap song lyrics to him upon being given his turkey basket on the town square? For what purpose as well would the suddenly bolder Jackson fervently coach other unfortunate individuals “surviving on the street” to then join Freddie in forming a chaotic choir of feast filled gratitude with some talented singing efforts of their own? As dusk fell early on that Thanksgiving Eve, he also organized a homeless conga line along this unsanitary street pavement. So why would our “new look” Jackson next take the time to lead this scraggly group of Corona masked wanderers in “Pied Piper” fashion around the entire town?

With so many curious onlookers in town witnessing this parade of homeless victims  that night, Jackson had thus spread a realistic measure of truth with his intended leadership message. Wake up people. Go ahead an enjoy the holiday in private tomorrow. Feast on turkey,  relive past times,  play with the kids,  or indulge in whatever “suits your fancy”. But let’s remember to give thanks that our lives are worth living for for ALL! Happy Birthday Joe Biden.