Bear's Den: "Nothing 'Corny' About Thanksgiving"

Owooo, it´s we-pe, or… cold… outside. Winter is here and along with it comes the conee (snow) and the tingling little feeling of burrrr! Personally, I´m not partial to the white stuff or to the little smarting feelings that it brings with it. But if the cold has taught me anything – it´s that one feller´s ´corny´…. may be another´s… ´highly scholarly-like´. Yep, I may be just a dumb, hick Injun, but folks… I do know the true worth of corn and boy… in addition to soooo much more, I´m pretty thankful for it.

Now, many two-leggeds think that Thanksgiving is a holiday that came about because of those funny-dressed sailors, ashore here on liberty, called 'The Pilgrims'. But no, such is not the case. Hey, speaking of the Mayflower cruisers, I´ve always suspected that it was the duds worn by the Pilgrims that had old John Wayne calling anybody he thought a little goofy… "Pilgrim". But, I digress. I was meandering about Thanksgiving which… is a traditional American Indian celebration – not a ´Plymouth Rock´ invention.

Nah, trust me, American Indians, from one nation to another across this land, have always celebrated the harvest every fall. From the beginning, they always given thanks to the Creator for whatever foodstuffs were gathered – large or small. Winter is mean, and can take life easily… even if you do have adequate munchies. So, being fully conscious of the Great Good Spirit´s gift in allowing food to be gathered, American Indians have an annual get-together to say "thank you" to God for His graciousness. And that day, back in 1621… the anemic looking two-leggeds, all dressed in oddly cut, black & white duds, were just invited to the party, that's all. Yep, and in spite of what it says in the history books… it wasn´t the other way around, either.

The picnic menu carried a lot of wild game because, heck… Indians weren´t big on farming. Hunting & gathering was our mode of survival. Still, that said, we did garden a few growables – primarily the Three Sacred Sisters: corn, beans and squash. And that brings me to good old corn or… Ma-tame…in Shawnee. Now, when I was a kid, corn was only used for a couple of things – feeding to the livestock or feeding to two-leggeds. In the latter, it was via off the cob, or in frybread (for an Indian), cornbread (for a Southerner) or Johnnycake… for you Yankees. But I have learned yet another use for da-me (also Indian for corn) and that´s in the defeating of the we-pe… aka: cold.

Last year, for reasons known only to her, my domestic boss stood outside… bare-headed in a cancer storm… and caught leukemia. Yep, yep – I know. But rest assured that while I´m attempting to be humorous here, it is her ´thus far´ recovery that both – allows this light levity and most positively… demands my most staunch gratefulness. The Creator has that in spades, folks, and boy… I tell Him every day, too – that´s a dead-bang given! So, Thanksgiving for me and mine… is so much more this year, eh. I mention her situation because, ordinarily, I´m either gone to Hawaii in the winter or working constantly here in Michigan. This year, though, I must ride herd on the Leukemia Kid, so I´m spending a great deal more time at home. That means that I need to rearrange the garage for something more productive than a catch-all for the junk that I´m ´supposedly´… too busy to clean up or put away. It was this realization… coupled by the point of a pistol… that brought forth my new admiration for corn.

The garage is insulated well, and, in years past, I´ve usually just pushed junk aside whenever I had to do body or mechanical work on a patrol jeep. But, having the time and aid… of a long-barreled gun… nudged at my back and wielded by "The Kid"… I determined that I had to clean it up and, somehow, heat it for various projects, etc. So, I bought a used corn stove. Yep – you heard right – a corn stove. This little baby burns good old-fashioned, dried field corn, and man, does she work well. Maize (also Indian for corn) may be a little more expensive nowadays, due to its ethanol use, but it´s clean and burns well in this kind´a hotbox. Heck, it puts out plenty of heat, is fuel efficient and it´s even environmentally better, so… what the hay. Yep...pun intended.

Thus, all of this then, is what makes me know that one feller´s ´corny´…. may be another´s… ´highly scholarly-like´. Yep, and even though the Leukemia Kid´s six-gun is a tad uncomfortable between my shoulder blades… I do know the true worth of corn, and boy… in addition to soooo very much more, I´m pretty thankful for that. I´m hopeful that ya´all are thankful, too, and that you have a great Thanksgiving.