Visit your local shopping mall or Wal-Mart citadel and you would think today is December 22nd, not November 22nd. Like the monster The Blob from the movie of the same name Christmas is growing and consuming everything in sight. Every year more days on the calendar are gobbled up by the holiday season the same way I gobble up Peanut Butter M&Ms. Up until now Thanksgiving had been the concrete barrier keeping the lava from the Christmas volcano from destroying the city of LA. But just like the Tommy Lee Jones movie Volcano, that concrete barrier couldn’t hold forever. Thanksgiving has become a casulty. It has been pushed aside to make room for prelighted Christmas trees, Hallmark limited edition ornaments and dancing snowmen.

We should not let Thanksgiving go down this way. It was 500 years ago that Christopher Columbus discovered America and shared the first Thanksgiving with the native people called “Indians”. He led a group of people called the Puritans who fled England because they were tired of being taxed for their religion. They forged a friendship with the Indians who were led by Tonto and his wife Pocohantas. The Indians taught the white people that corn could also be called maize, which was crucial the Puritans surviving the harsh winter. However, the peace between these two peoples would not last forever. The Indians got upset that the Puritans were naming their sports teams after them and retaliated by throwing all the Puritans tea into the bay. That is why Americans no longer drink tea to this very day.

So before you head to the store to buy your kid Barbie’s Dream Brothel or Show Me On The Doll Where He Touched You Elmo, take a minute to give thanks for all you have. Thanksgiving is part of our history and should not be forgotten.