Thanksgiving is an odd time for me.  Not quite sure why that is.  I’m not really, as of late, a fan of over doing it at the dinner table.  Indeed, I find it ironic that we would celebrate the giving of thanks with overindulgence.  To be sure, I am grateful that meals were being provided to the less fortunate in our community.  I’m almost inclined to believe that those with access to regular meals should do something like fast on this day of thanks.

As usual I have far too many stops to make on this day.  I have vowed to limit my food intake as I will be forced to partake no matter where I go.  It just goes with the territory when you work your trap line on Thanksgiving Day.
 
I started my day with two old Jesuit priests that will be unnamed.  I am working on a communications project with them.  Seems that they want to enter the 21st century and I have been recommended to them as an able guide.  Blogging and media are things they have heard of and are very interested in.  Now if I can only teach the padres how to type.

I assured them that all was possible, if they had faith, and it seems that they have faith in abundance.  This is particularly gratifying to know on this Thanksgiving Day.  Technology issues behind us, we settled into matters of greater importance.  I’m not sure how we arrived at the following, but it impressed me greatly.  Both priests are not men of means and take their vows of poverty very seriously.  They travel frequently and rely on the hospitality of others to make their travels possible.  They also recognize their obligation to make sure they provide hospitality for those that pass their way.  It is a good system and they regard themselves as pilgrims.  Pilgrims on Thanksgiving Day.  There I am sitting in a living room, thankfully devoid of turkey or any trimmings, and I’m having this conversation with a couple of pilgrims.

The dictionary will tell you a number of things about pilgrims.  Most frequently pilgrims are those that take trips to holy sites.  The Moslems are particularly serious about their pilgrimages. The dictionary will also tell you that a pilgrim might be a newcomer to a region or place, esp. to the western U.S.  It is my recollection that John Wayne was known for referring to people as pilgrims.  Now you know the source.    A traveler or wanderer might be referred to as being a pilgrim.   So I started thinking about the pilgrims in my midst.  The priests, for sure, but also the people that we call homeless.

Homeless has become a dirty word.  Some time ago there was an article in the NYT about Latinos becoming the new gays.  That was in reference to the fact that it seems ok today to bash Latinos like it was ok to bash gays in the not so distant past.  I am now contending that the homeless are becoming the new gays.  It seems to be open season on the homeless.  Certainly there are efforts to deprive them of basic human rights.  There are efforts to eliminate them from the ranks of our communities.  Basically it is all out warfare on the homeless. 

So I thought the homeless need some better PR.  The term homeless is too loaded, it is almost as loaded as the term nigger.  Filthy, dirty, lazy, often come before the term homeless as they did when nigger was a common way of referring to those of African descent.  People that would never use the term nigger in public seem quite happy to use homeless as a derogatory term.  Well I say we refer to the homeless as pilgrims.  They wander, some might be on a quest, some might be on the lam.  But to me the homeless are pilgrims.  They have a journey.  Not having a home is not a crime, it is unworthy of derision. Just like having darker skin is not a crime or worthy of derision.

The priests both agreed with me.  Those without homes are pilgrims.  As pilgrims we are obliged to show them hospitality and help them with the journey they are on. The Moslems would agree.  The Buddhists would agree.  The Hindus would agree.  The Jews would agree. Those that are true Christians would agree.  Most of the cultures and faiths of this world hold the pilgrims in great regard. 

I ended up having my fill of turkey and trimmings, but what made me thankful was the spirit of these two old Jesuits.  I later told them I’d be posting parts of their conversation on a blog (with their identities disguised, but those that know me know who they are).  Little light bulbs went off above both their heads.  We could do that, they said.  Indeed, they could, and they too were thankful on this Thanksgiving Day.  Blogging, something to be thankful for on this day.