The annual turkey massacre - or as it is known in the US, Thanksgiving

I was just looking back over my previous posts as I was positive I had gone over this subject matter before but had decided anyway to rehash it - I mean if they can remake 'The Greatest American Hero' (do you have the theme song stuck in your head already?) and MacGyver why can't I write a blog that may be a retread also. Fortunately for me (and y'all) it doesn't look like this is a remake but it may hit on some commonality with previous posts but let's face it Romeo and Juliet was just a rehash of The Princess Bride, as inconceivable as that may be.

Thanksgiving Day was never a big day back in New Zealand, certainly not as big as July 4th, which was also not celebrated back there, for some unknown reason. Having been in the US for nigh on 15 years I have now come to understand more about this most American of traditions (which is also celebrated albeit on different days in Canada, Grenada, Liberia and a few other places and is essentially not really American at all but hey, they have the biggest parade so who am I to argue). I originally thought it was just an excuse to have a 3 day work week and drink beer whilst watching the Detroit Lions lose a football game but my knowledge has expanded. Now there are 3 football games on Thanksgiving Day and retail stores who don't give a shit about families getting together open as a precursor to the big Black Friday sales. Having worked at a large box retailer for a couple of Black Fridays in the past I can positively say it is an asshat of a day and I will not be participating at all in the retail madness, financial constraints not withstanding :)

Quick note of some interest maybe is that they are starting to see Black Friday events in New Zealand now - which must confuse some people what with all our sports teams (apart from the kicky round ball crap) being called Black something. Some examples would be The All Blacks (rugby) The Black Caps (cricket) The Black Sticks (field hockey) and the NZ basketball team which is obviously The Tall Blacks.

So on this giving of thanks day I am going to give thanks, in list form, of a few things I am thankful for.

• At this time of year I am extremely thankful for the inventor of the 2 stroke backpack blower as I have a shit tonne of leaves at my new place, also thankful that Home Depot had leaf rakes with metal handles as the wooden ones break too easily
• The people working at Chevrolet in 1999 that built the Beast as that truck of mine is awesome
• Mr Jack Daniels
• The people at Coca Cola
• Mr Heineken
• The person who invented the refrigerator so that Mr Heineken can be served at the correct temperature and because they make ice in them (see Mr Jack Daniels above)
• 1080p High Definition broadcasts of Too Many Pads Ball
• The International Combine Harvester
• Stan Lee - just watched Ant Man last night with the kids, damn funny movie
• The inventor of the electric telephone as I am too lazy to write letters to the parental units back home - not even sure where I can buy an aerogram these days anyway
• The people that give us the freedom that we so often take for granted
• King Richie and the All Blacks 
• The Zuck, who allegedly (don't want the Zuck to sue me) stole the book of faces from the Winklevi so that I can stay in touch with friends all over the planet
• The people at Poets Day who let me write these blogs
• Me, because I am the people at Poets Day

On a more serious note I would like to thank my friends who have become family. I cannot mention all of y'all but there are a few that come to mind quickly. JB down in Florida, drinker of the 500 beer challenge. Corey out in AZ who knows where I am and has been a great ear. Shaun and Wayne out in CA. JB and family here in Raleigh. Debs and Cowboy in my favorite town, Nashville. Mike who loves my hugs :) and the Durham Bulls. Mel - there are 2 of you and you both know who you are - thanks. Thanks to my old boss and my new bosses for, well, for hiring me :) Shout out to the people at the office who haven't yet complained to HR about my language, mainly because we don't have an HR department as yet :) To the people that let me sell stuff to them. To Johnny Utah for making sure I have stuff to sell, keep doing your damn job :) To the English Major and his wonderful new wife, thanks, and looking forward to you complaining about lack of sleep when you finally work out how to make small English Majors :) To the people that have helped me with furniture etc for my new place, the kids and I appreciate it. And to my new neighbors, who don't even read this blog, thanks for not complaining about me yet :) A special thank you today to my friends out in Clayton who invited me over today to watch Too Many Pads Ball and drink beer. 

And finally ('thank goodness' I hear anyone who has read this far say) I want to thank my family. Becs and Jim, Guido and Helen, Mike the Cop and Georgia, Poppa Jeff and Granny Raz. Sure we are only either a 6 hour or 18 hour flight away plus layover but there is a big piece of y'all here - and yes I know I need to lose weight  :) Most of all I want to thank my ex (and her family) for giving me the thing I am most thankful for - apart from my rugged good looks and charm :) Monkey and Turtle.

May your turkey be moist, may your ham be pre-sliced, may the gravy be plentiful and may the arguments be brief. Unlike usual posts this one might have been about you. Any animals or vegetables cooked during this post were done so for purely enjoyment reasons and anyone that feels I owe them special thanks, you are probably right so special thanks to you :)

So on this Thanksgiving Day work hard at enjoying this day, play hard with the people that you are with and give thanks that you have friends and family that provide you inspiration.

Happy Poets Day (a day early for those this side of the International Date Line)

Gobble gobble