Thought for Food

Today, I’ve been planning two Thanksgivings: one with my New York family and one with my family at home, in St. Paul.

November will be, I hope, a triumphant, joyful month.  I can’t wait to finally have good political news to discuss with my parents as we cook our feast and drink our wine.

Thinking about this reminded me of Thanksgiving, 2001.  The war in Afghanistan was about six weeks old.  Across America, Muslims were being harassed.  There were new words and phrases in my vocabulary: al-Qaeda, War on Terror, Operation Enduring Freedom, raghead, dune nigger.

It was my dad’s idea that we have a “Ramadan Thanksgiving.”  We fasted until sundown — not easy, when you’re cooking — and then sat down to an otherwise traditional meal.

It was a simple, private way of recognizing that there is more that unites us than divides us.  And it was just slightly subversive, which is the Sherman style.