holiday jumble

Lepidoptera, originally uploaded by gurdonark.

We returned today from a Thanksgiving of juxtaposition.

Gatherings with families and dear friends, images of the disaster in Mumbai, the joy of falling snow, the senseless sadness elicited by news of needless deaths during holiday shopping excursions. An obituary for a 22-year-old stranger in the Kansas City Star: "she danced on many stages" [donations to be made to the cancer society]. A tour of a gracious old hotel and an awe-inspiring mansion, each owned by people we know and like very much; a flautist, a guitarist and a singer standing by a Salvation Army kettle as a mall nearly empty of shoppers advertised its wares.

The joy of showing someone how to better use the internet. The sadness of noting how people from the internet sought to reach out to a child. Foods--turkey, dhosas, bakery coffee-cake, lasagna, oatmeal, pumpkin bread, sambar soup, duck, bananas. Buying no gifts on sale. Empty airports, crowded flights, the sight of herons flying with determination, a puppy at play, a room full of people at a reunion for my wife's high school class, a picture of the graduating class of 1944.

Images, ideas, snippets of conversation, warmth, gossip, scandal, redemption, comfort, faith and a quick, familial hug from a 3 year old.