HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING

When I was a kid in a late, unlamented step-mother country, I always resented the fact that my Birthday was in the end of November, meaning in the middle of nowhere: after the break for the Celebration of the Glorious Revolution, and before the New Years and Mid-Winter break. Basically, I did not like to go to school on my Birthday.

I still do not like to go to school, or worse, to work, on my Birthday, but the appreciation of the timing of my arrival into this world changed dramatically: now it is close to Thanksgiving, so it always puts me at least in a good mood, if not exactly festive. So, here is to another year of my life! As always, this year was filled with things both wonderful, the most notable of which was my first trip to the Caribbean, and the opposite of wonderful, one of which was my friend of nineteen years proposing the break up via e-mail.

As a whole, I was really not in a mood to celebrate this year; but, as always, I did attempt. My attempts consisted of taking the day off, having a relaxed and very enjoyable breakfast out with my sis, and then going on the town and blowing my non-existent money on my favorite things: books and chocolates. My wonderful mom also hosted a family get-together with magnificent and plentiful food, and my siblings threatened me with presents coming in the immediate future. Again, my plan to get drunk was nixed this year, and again due to my being on meds: this time it was not just antibiotics, but a combo of antibiotics and anti-inflammatory. But, thank G-d, the meds worked, and in the process my MD discovered my B12 deficiency, so, hopefully, more energy coming up pretty soon:)

But, honestly, celebratory spirit was really quiet low this year, and mostly it was due to (yes you guessed it) the election results. I know I have already offered my opinion on it, and I know it may sound illogical; I really do not care. To me these results signified only one thing: people who do not appreciate the beauty of this country, or do not realize or appreciate the multitude of blessings that come to us simply by living here, have summarily surrendered USA to people who openly hate it and are proud of it. So, while waiting for Thanksgiving, I could not stop thinking about very familiar, but not the less lamentable for it, human trait of not appreciating the multitude of good things we do have. And then came the Thanksgiving itself, and the horrible murders in Mumbai, the thoughts of which still bring tears to my eyes.

As I mentioned before, I am slowly approaching middle age. So, naturally, a person is expected to gain certain wisdom at this point. So, what did I gain in all those years so far, aside from becoming increasingly sarcastic, jaded, and pessimistic? The cornerstone of wisdom actually came to me when I was twenty two, in that memorable summer of taking statistics and secretarial courses (at the same time, but in different schools), meanwhile battling a strep of a six months duration. Anyway, while studying the bell curve, and especially its application to the matters of human IQ, there is a simple and clear pattern, and remembering it usually saves you from numerous occasions of pre-hypertension blood pressure: 64% of human population (the ones between first standart deviations on each side) has very average intelligence. That's it!

And that is the wisdom for the ages! Majority of population consists of people whose outlook on life is, well, just average. They never ponder the deep meaning of anything, and will swallow any and all lies, providing that the lie will guarantee them quite existence and fatter wallets, to which end they aspire their whole lives anyway. Then add to this the fact that even if people were born with good brains, they were not necessarily taught to expand and exercise those brains; moreover, around half the people with decent brains and educations use those to commit sins against the rest of humanity. This picture, of course, is very rosy, but, once you absorb it, the life becomes that much easier.

What else did I learn? It's wonderful not to conform and live according to logic, and not the opinions of Mr. and Mrs. Jones next door. Unfortunately, the people who will most suffer for your uniqueness, aside, of course, from you, are the ones who are closest to you and love you the most. It is fantastic to be a woman, but it is a man's world, and you will not have an easy lot, no matter which road you will choose. Nobody, and I mean, nobody cares about your level of eruditeness or your college GPA, but everyone will comment on your style of dressing yourself (or the supposed lack of thereof). Your good manners will not impress the scofflaw; moreover, those manners will get you pushed away, pushed around, and stepped on your toes. Very few good deeds are appreciated, and even fewer go unpunished. And commitment to work earns you the opportunity to pick up the slack for all the not so committed co-workers, plus ulcers and the above-mentioned hypertension. Basically, to quote one of my favorite movies: "The world is being FedExed to hell in a hand basket" (and has been for a while, by the way).

And then you remember Stendhal’s quote about the fact that there are many more great people than you think (at least I think it was Stendhal’s). And every morning, on the way to work, you see your old neighbour patiently waiting for Asses-A-Ride, so he can go to his wife in a nursing home. And on the way from work, you see a girl with a crutch giving her seat on the subway to a pregnant woman. And another guy on the subway rides extra four stops, so he can try and pick you up because he was fascinated by you repeatedly laughing out loud while reading a romance. And every 9/11 anniversary, you remember ordinary people like Todd Beamer and Amy Sweeney, who acted with courage and patriotism in the face of horrible odds.

Oh, and the character from the movie? He found out that he is about to be a father right after uttering that wonderful sentence.

So, here is to another year, better things to come, and all the G-d's Blessings! L'Chaim!