Away from turmoil, into peace

Not being completely immersed in the news everyday, I often find it difficult to find a topic to address in my columns. For this particular week, since I have been going from show to show at the theater, I've spent more time creating than critiquing.\nFor the first time in a long time, however, I took a very long moment outside.\nThis past weekend, I found a new meaning to a very American holiday that, more than any other American holiday, I\'ve actually celebrated in a manner that was not blinded by merchandising or my own cynicism -- for instance, Labor Day (wait a minute...?).\nThanksgiving, for me anyway, has some very distinct traditions that always make it an anticipated holiday, but also one where I can allow my patriotism to show.\nFor the last four years, a friend from high school has had a brunch for friends from high school (not all of us are still on speaking terms, but none of us dislike one another). It is a tradition she plans to continue even beyond college. That small gesture of friendship and hospitality brings those of us together who, otherwise, we may not even speak to, much less break bread with.\nNot to be too long-winded about it, it is a tradition that immediately puts me into a sharing and loving atmosphere for the rest of the day's festivities.\nThis year, since Thanksgiving is always divided between being with my mother and my father, I chose this year to be with my father and come back to Bloomington for the kind of thanksgiving people only read about (ha, ha). \nWe spent the holiday with friends at their home in Green County, Ind., -- a home with dogs, horses, a pond, hundreds of acres and nowhere near civilization (relatively). It was a day of being back in a place where nothing can really bother you, a place that is much older than you realize (just take a walk by the cemetery on their property where most of the deaths were between 1835-1890).\nIf nothing else, laying on the hammock after having eaten my fill of organic, hickory smoked turkey brought me back to my Southern Indiana roots and laid back, simple pleasures.\nAfter having spent (and about to return to) hours upon hours in a dark theater helping entertain people, the thanks I was giving this holiday was for the reminder of the simplicity of life and how beautiful this world can be.\nDespite the cold I caught, this was a very peaceful, thankful Thanksgiving.