Nov

Life’s Changes on a Thanksgiving Tablecloth

by Janine Boylan on November 19, 2012

Table set with a Thanksgiving tablecloth showing a record of life's changes

Messages and memories are at the table
© Janine Boylan

Our Family’s Thanksgiving Tradition

Many years ago I spread a thick, gleaming white tablecloth on our Thanksgiving table, and, after dinner, passed around a permanent pen and asked everyone to write short notes of gratitude on the cloth next to their place.

Thanksgiving tablecloth with "Bats and Frogs", showing a record of life's changes

My son is grateful for “bats and frogs”
© Janine Boylan

Our First Messages

That year there were just five of us: Mom, Dad, my husband, my tiny son, and me. My son was the first to accept the task. He scrawled “BATS AND FROOGS!” in his boxy uppercase letters.

My mom wrote where we were celebrating that year and what the weather was like. The rest of us took turns scribbling our brief sentences of gratitude for family and food.

The next day, I gently washed and folded the cloth, putting it away until the following year.

The Messages Grow and Change

During the tablecloth’s second Thanksgiving, Mom and I smiled as my son carefully wrote that he was grateful for his new baby sister.

The next year a dear friend passed the sweet potatoes and knocked dark red wine across the center of the white cloth. The year after that, next to the still-brown stain, she wrote she was thankful for second chances.

My toddler daughter very seriously explained her Morse-code-like lines and dots: “I love my dog Jack.”

Thanksgiving tablecloth, showing a thankful message in a record of life's changes

Important words give meaning to Thanksgiving
© Janine Boylan

After that, Thanksgiving grew to a larger family gathering, away from my house. Even though the tablecloth came every year, Mom never failed to greet me with, “Did you bring the tablecloth?”

One year we added that we were grateful for our new puppy.

A year later, we sadly shared that we missed our older dog Jack but were thankful for the times that we had with him.

A Record of Life’s Inevitable Changes

As I ironed the cloth one year, I noticed that the older notes were starting to fade a little, but Mom said, “Don’t worry about it—it’s all part of life’s changes!”

Then we had a big, unexpected change. Last year was the first Thanksgiving without Mom. I tucked the tablecloth into my suitcase as I went to share Thanksgiving away from home, but I couldn’t bear to bring it out. It didn’t seem right to have the tablecloth without Mom.

I tried again at Christmas. As I ironed the tablecloth and then carefully traced over some of the fading letters, I thought about all the glorious memories I had of her—planning and cooking meals, playing games, even washing dishes. After dinner, I wrote my note on the tablecloth about Mom, of course.

As long as I have this tablecloth, I will remember this Oh, I see moment about life’s inevitable changes, happy and sad. This year I may just write how I’m grateful for this no-longer-gleaming-white piece of cloth and all the special memories it has shared.

Thanksgiving tablecloth showing a record of life's changes including messages from young family members

Everyone writes, no matter what the age
© Janine Boylan

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Cultural Heritage & Traditions/USA

Nov

Cultural Traditions: A Muslim Thanksgiving

by Meredith Mullins on November 14, 2012

Senegalese boys washing horses in preparation for cultural traditions during Tabaski

Leading a horse to water
© Meredith Mullins

Are Ewe Ready for Senegal’s Tabaski?

The boys were washing their horse in the Atlantic Ocean, off the west coast of Africa. When it’s time for cleaning, go where the water is—a philosophy in so many countries where water is a treasure.

How could I resist wading out to join in? And, in so doing, I met a new group of Senegalese friends. Their smiles were genuine and they welcomed the opportunity for a cultural exchange.

The boys were hard at work getting their white horse a little whiter and brighter, because the festival of Tabaski was coming. They were also splashing around the refreshing water and soaking in warm sun just for fun. The villagers, all fishing people, constantly turn toward the sea for livelihood, lounging, and laughter.

Tabaski and Thanksgiving—More Alike Than You May Think

The excitement was tangible as the festival of Tabaski was near.

Senegalese girls dressed up for the cultural traditions of Tabaski

Pretty, but new dresses are coming for Tabaski
© Meredith Mullins

Tabaski is the Feast of Sacrifice or the Fête du Mouton (Feast of Sheep).

It is one of the most important Muslim holidays in Senegal, a day of sacrifice, forgiveness, food, and family—in remembrance of Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son.

It is similar to U.S. Thanksgiving, but, while Americans focus on turkeys, the Senegalese cultural tradition is centered on sheep.

The family must buy (or raise) a sheep, which is then slaughtered by the man of the house for the huge meal of the day that is shared by all the family. Everyone dresses up in new clothes, and children have permission to ask adult family and friends for a small gift of money.

The Festivities in Senegal

The markets are full of sheep as the festival draws near. More than 700,000 sheep are sold for this holiday. And prices sometimes skyrocket (as much as $900 for a prize ram), making the purchase of a sheep difficult for many families.

Sometimes, families save all year to be able to buy the Tabaski sheep. Many organizations donate sheep to poorer families since it is so important in the religion to sacrifice a sheep during this festival. And, Senegalese can try their luck with supermarket scratch off tickets for a chance to win a sheep.

Boys with a sheep preparing for the cultural tradion of Tabaski in Senegal

Caring for the Treasured Sheep
© Meredith Mullins

Sheep are so important that the most popular TV show in Senegal is the American-Idol style search for the most perfect sheep in Senegal (“Khar Bii”).

Often, the sheep stays with the family for the days before the festival, while the family sharpens knives just out of earshot, in anticipation of the slaughter. (The families respect the animal, so the slaughter is done as painlessly as possible.)

Welcoming a New Cultural Tradition

I had to leave Senegal before the festivities (and the sheep slaughter, thankfully), but I was there long enough to feel the depth of their cultural traditions and the warmth of their hospitality.

The Senegalese have an enviable confidence. They look at you straight from the soul, with pride and an unpretentious, unselfconscious “here I am.” And even though life is dusty and sparse, they live the word Teranga, which means welcome in Wolof.

Oh, I see . . . Teranga!

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Africa/Cultural Diversity/Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Senegal

Nov

Clever Uses for Old Campaign Signs

by Janine Boylan on November 12, 2012

What’s the Life Cycle of a Campaign Sign?

From Planting to Harvest

Just a week ago, when election season was in full swing, brightly colored campaign signs were sprouting hourly along the roadside. By election day, competing candidates’ signs were jostling for each nourishing ray of motorists’ attention.

Then, suddenly, the morning after the election, nearly all the signs had been plucked away. The freeway fields were bare again.

It made me wonder: what is the life cycle of a campaign sign?

The planting season for campaign signs varies, but in California, where I live, there are rules:

It is safe to set signs in the ground no earlier than 90 days prior to an election.
They may not be in the right-of-way of any highway.
Signs have to be maintained by a responsible party who agrees to harvest them within ten days of the election.

So, if you venture out before sunrise on the morning after the election, you may see candidates and their teams out picking signs. “You’ve got to be a responsible citizen and get all the signs you put out, and even some that you didn’t,” Phil Salzer, elected to the Peoria County Board, explained.

One candidate, John Pierre Menvielle, had carefully marked each of his sign placements on a map, and, knowing where they all were, he was able to gather 400 of his signs in one day. Some candidates even make agreements to pick up one another’s signs to make the task a little easier.

Seeds for the Next Stage

Then what’s next in the life cycle of a campaign sign? It may become the seed for a clever use in its next stage:

Some signs are considered collectibles. People think of political signs as historical mementoes, so they tuck them away as souvenirs.
Some signs get replanted next election season. “We try to gather them up and clean them so we can use them in other elections,” campaign manager Dan Pelphrey said. He explained that if candidates don’t go for reelection, they might give the wire stakes to other candidates to use for their signs. (Stakes can cost from around $.25 to $1 each.)
A few signs get recycled. While many recycling centers do not accept political signs because of the various materials they are made of, some centers do collect and recycle them. So this year’s campaign sign may be one ingredient in the next generation of campaign signs.

campaign sign showing a clever use as bicycle parts

Wheel Out a Very Clever Use!

Kent Peterson of Puget Sound, Washington, has a very clever use for the pulled-up signs: he carves them into bike accessories. In the photo above, the saddlebag on the back is made from a repurposed sign.

Look closely at the front and back fenders—they were once signs as well. Brilliant: using mud-slinging politicians’ signs to keep the mud from slinging onto my clothes!

Oh, I see the full life cycle of a campaign sign from planting to the consumer!

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Monthly Archives: November 2012