Thanksgiving

The Wolofs have a proverb that goes like this: "Mag mat na baayi ci reew mi." This translates to "elders are like the parents of the country." It means that our elders are our connection to our past, to what and where we came from. They are the sources of our history, and their experiences offer us a whole lot to learn from. I bring up this proverb to commemorate those elders that we lost during the past year. In my case, three in particular stand out. While they were not all blood relatives (and the nature of our relation was somewhat distant), each of them had an impact on my upbringing and the person I am today. I will give a brief description of each of them.

First, there is my cousin's grandfather, who passed away in the spring. During his lifetime he worked extensively in the USSR and I got the opportunity to hang out with him a bit during the past few years. He used to tell me stories about his business dealings- my dad used to call him the world's last true communist. This was, of course, because under Communism bribery was so much simpler. There was only one person to bribe. But after the fall, became so much more complicated. He was truly a joy to be around, and I will miss him.

The second was my next door neighbor for about 10 years. He was a WWII veteran from the Pacific theatre and had lived in the same house for around 50 years. I used to sit and shoot the breeze with him as he'd tell me about the history of the neighborhood. Despite being in his late 70s, it was not an uncommon sight for him to be outside painting his porch, or doing other yardwork.

The last was my grandfather's cousin; I spent quite a bit of time with him and his family as a child. I remember watching Hindi serials and movies at his place as a kid, and how he'd taunt our dog Buddy by barking at him and how realistic his "bark" sounded. My memories of him are rather distant though as we didn't really see much of each other during the past 10 years. But I am sad that he's gone too.

When you get together to give thanks, please be thankful for your friends and family, and enjoy and cherish their company. Especially the elders, because they are your connection to your past. And you never know when they may be gone.

Peace be.