The house is quiet while the turkey completes its thaw in the oven (four days in the frig wasn't enough), the girls with presumably strep throat (the nurse practitioner at the minor emergency clinic says she would treat their symptoms the same whether the test was positive or negative so Amoxicillin it is) continue sleeping, and the boys (three of which are thankfully home from college) are at Thanksgiving Liturgy.
While contemplating the first Thanksgiving, I thought it would be nice to post a traditional painting of the event. This site has a pretty broad collection which includes Norman Rockwell's famous c. WWII depictions. Though cartoony compared to the other First Thanksgiving masterpieces, this one was the most equinanimous.
The others (imo) showed refined Pilgrims condescending to serve their bounty with charity cases. The reality, as is commonly known but not depicted for some reason, is that the Indians saved the Pilgrims from starving to death, so the scene should depict the Indian's overseeing how well the Pilgrims followed instructions. Even this one, with its mixed seating and the lighthearted enjoyment shared by all, has the Pilgrim's heads higher than the Indian's. Also there is still the idea that knowing how to set a proper table trumps acknowledgment to the uncouth. So in addition to being thankful to God for His bountiful blessings, we should thank the Indians who connected us to them in this land, and pray for the souls of the murdered ones.
Speaking of American guilt, we saw a movie produced by Michael Landon Jr. called The Last Sin Eater [Ten-year-old Cadi Forbes (Liana Liberato) lives in an 1850s Appalachian community proud of its faith and its ability to keep secrets close to home. Wracked with guilt over the tragic death of her little sister, Cadi seeks out the only person she believes can help her -- The Sin Eater (Peter Wingfield). Michael Landon Jr. directs and Henry Thomas and Oscar winner Louise Fletcher star in Brian Bird's screen adaptation of Francine Rivers's novel.] which turned out to be a complicated thing to digest (pun accidental). It was anti-sacramental, violent, and very Protestant, but made some valid criticisms as to how the idea of pagan priesthood was being applied. It was too dismissive, however. Still, the movie is right about loving and coming clean with others, alive and dead, including the Indians.
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