Paper Art Thanksgiving: Everyone who matters is here
From all of us here in Santa Barbara: “Happy Thanksgiving!” And, by ‘all of us’, I really mean ‘all of us’. For the first time in decades, the entire family (parents, offspring, spouses, grandchildren) collected in one place for the Thanksgiving holiday. Very special, it brought back memories of the first time that the core family wasn’t together for Thanksgiving Day.
Flashback: The Hague
It had been an exciting and hectic week. Mitra, away at college for her freshman year, would be coming home for Thanksgiving. And, for reasons that I never understood, we were cleaning the house for her. Now well-established in Holland, Nazy had found cranberry sauce at ‘The American Store’ and, with rapport established at the local butcher shop, had secured an appropriately sized turkey. The local Albert Heijn grocery even had a pumpkin. (It was a simpler era — a time when pumpkins didn’t remind me of presidential politics.) We were ready for Mitra’s triumphant return to Europe. And then… the phone rang. (At 2:00 AM)
“It’s Mitra,” Nazy whispered as I struggled to achieve consciousness.
“It can’t be Mitra,” I replied. “She is on an airplane..”
“It’s Mitra.” Nazy confirmed. “She missed her flight.”
“She missed… How did she do that?”
“She forgot her passport.”
“Do you think we’re getting our money’s worth from the Princeton education?”
“She has to go back to Princeton and take tomorrow’s flight. But..”
“But?”
“She only brought a nickel to the airport.”
“She should have gone to Georgia Tech. It’s closer to an airport.” I replied. “And engineers are practical.” I thought.
Somehow Mitra got back to Princeton (somebody at Newark Airport overheard the conversation and drove her home). She arrived in The Netherlands the day after Thanksgiving.
End Flashback
This Thanksgiving, Mitra and Stefan drove up from Los Angeles while Darius, Christiane and Leandra flew in from Washington State. To make the trip feel like his recent trips to Lebanon (18 hours from California), Darius booked United Airlines. They met expectations: the flight from Seattle to San Francisco was delayed 4 hours because of a ‘bird strike’. They missed their connection and the rerouted flight was an hour late. The journey took 17 hours.
The lovely Leandra handled the delays with aplomb, Darius and Christiane with graciousness and Nazy with dismay. I was annoyed.
“Annoyed, Dan?” Nazy asked.
“Okay, I was mad.” I replied.
“Mad?”
“Okay. I was livid.”
“Livid?”
“Seething. I was seething! Furious. Outraged.” I replied. (But I was not surprised.)
With everyone assembled in Santa Barbara — which was decidedly warm for late November — there was a flurry of family and friends activity. Not only enjoying a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with family and friends at the Jones’ home, Nazy also planned a Thanksgiving feast for Melika and Tom’s home.
Nazy’s dinner, prepared both at our home and in Melika’s (but consumed at Mel and Tom’s) was delightful. We had pumpkin soup (take that, prince of tweetdom), sweet potatoes, sweet peas, salad (kale) and apple crisp (with ice cream). We also had time for the traditional holiday family photo. The theme was blue and beige, but…
“Who taught Tiger to say: ‘I don’t want to’?” I asked myself noticing that Tiger didn’t want to wear blue and, for sure, didn’t want to have his picture taken. After confirming that superior intellect wouldn’t work, we tried superior force.
“Wait a minute, Dan!” Nazy interrupts. “How do you know that your intellect was superior?”
During the celebrations, Mitra unveiled her birthday present for one of my previous birthdays.
“Remember, Dad, I said that I had commissioned a paper art piece?” Mitra began.
“Yes, I remember it well.” I replied. “I think that was a couple of years ago.”
“One year, Dad.”
“Ah,” I replied. “But,” I thought, “I had no idea what Mitra meant by a paper art piece. I assumed something like origami — it runs in the family.” Nazy did an origami demonstration on Channel 5 in Atlanta while we were in Grad School.
“It’s done, Dad! I love your weekly letters. I have them all - the first one from 1997. This work is made from your weekly letters. You can even read them.”
The art, which will be hanging behind my desk shortly, is based on a holiday photo when I was wearing Victorian garb.
The artist’s name is Miyuki Ishikawa and her work, including this one, can be seen on her site by clicking here. It is a really beautiful. And, while I had no idea or preconceived view of the meaning of ‘Paper Art’. I also think, that Mitra was somewhat in the dark when she commissioned the work.
Nazy and I were very happy to not only see and visit with everyone, but to see how well we like each other. Tiger and Arrow always enjoy playing with Mitra and Stefan. Mitra and Melika (and Tom and Stefan) ‘oohed and aahed’ over the lovely Leandra. Darius and Christiane enjoyed everyone (and the ping pong table on the ground floor.) The party at Melika’s home included their friends who not only welcomed us when we arrived from Europe, but who have become our friends. It was a Thanksgiving with plenty to be thankful for. And, as I told Darius on the drive home..
“I’m thankful for the 22nd Amendment.”
“Term limits, eh? What do you think about Ray Moore, Senate candidate from Alabama?”
“Well, Dar, as you know I never support candidates of the Grand Old Pedophile.”
“The establishment Republicans say they’ll eject him from the Senate if he is elected.”
“I’d rather eject Alabama from the union if he’s elected,” I replied. “In fact, if Alabama had elected this guy in the 1860’s, I would have let them secede.”
‘I like that idea, Dad.”
“And, when we eject Alabama, I will support building a wall. Around Alabama.”
“And Alabamians will pay for it.” Darius concurred.
“If the founding fathers could see how this Electoral College idea worked recently, they’d have supported direct election.” I concluded.
… to be continued ….
For last week's letter please check here
The Lovely Leandra