Thanksgiving

I really liked reading Michael Palin's book on his travels all around the upper half of Africa, Sahara. I learned about some of the very different groups of people who live there. I was grateful that I didn't have to be the one enduring the terrible heat (130 degrees Fahrenheit!), the whip-sharp sands, the days without water for washing, the fear of becoming lost or being a target of violence (Algiers). I would rather read about someone sharing meals with many different hosts than be the one who must cheerfully eat camel stew or sheep while the dead head of the animal sits staring nearby. I suffered no motion sickness by reading about crowded 36-hour long train rides, bumpy jeep jolts through the desert, or swinging and swaying narrow boat rides up the Niger River with a few dozen people and goats packed together. I also was pleasantly surprised at Palin's writing. It is lovely and insighful.

Olivia, Maria, and I watched the first two parts of the four-part film of his travels in Africa. His wit comes through in the film, which is fun to watch. They keep it short and sweet but give a good sense of the overlapping groups of people: Arab and black, Muslim and Christian, nomadic, rural, and city-dwelling. And as you would expect, there are some beautiful shots of sweeping sand dunes and sunsets. Makes me want to see Lawrence of Arabia or The English Patient again. I would also like to know exactly where my father-in-law was in North Africa in World War II, but he is long gone and I'm afraid most of his stories about those years died with him.

Thinking of him and other dear family members who aren't with us today and being grateful for the ones who are, I wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.