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27 Heshvan 5772 November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving Is Memorable for Caring and Sharing
Since 1863, and on the last Thursday of November, pursuant of Presidential Proclamation, time is set aside to express public and private gratitude for the bounty of the land, and the manifold blessings around us we constantly enjoy, but take little notice. This autumnal feast coincides with the last harvest, and has been modeled --- as so many examples attest from Pilgrims to Founding Fathers well-versed in the Old Testament --- after the recently-concluded Jewish Festival of Succot (Booths, during which time farmers built temporary shelters in their fields, the better to be prompt in their tasks of gathering their crops).
The day began before sundown, driving to JFK Airport , Hangar 4, to collect daughter Joy Avitan's mother-in-law Rahel, arriving on Delta's Flight 269 from Tel Aviv, Israel
Arriving at the behest of journalist Alexandros Stefanopoulos, http://www.greekamericannewsagency.com/, willing to offer my services, joining in the distribution of 500 plates of turkey, and all its trimmings, I was overwhelmed by the beehive of activity that was ongoing, and was scheduled to end around 4 PM. The tradition of everything free on Thanksgiving Day, I was informed by the group's president George Alexiou, and even chair George Kitsios, began 22 years ago from a story printed in the bilingual National Herald. It related the generous offer of a Greek diner in Long Island to distribute mountains of free food to all comers, especially the needy and lonely, on this special day. The proposal to duplicate this example of generosity was then enthusiastically accepted, and continues unabated, in memory of Konstantinos and Marina Fakiris, Melina Alexiou, and Tom Alafogiannis.
Kudos to the many volunteer servers, including New York Consuls Evangelos Kyriakopoulos and Koula Sophianou, of Greece and Cyprus, respectively, and resident troubadour Serapheim Lazos, who gave us all much to hum, though the steady crowd permitted no dancing in the aisles. It was good to see businessman/philanthropist Dinos Ralis, photographer Archon Dimitris Panagos, journalist Dean Sirigos, educator/artist Ionas, Federation of Hellenic Societies president Elias Tsekeridis, while the entrance of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios added a spiritual dimension.
One could not escape the notion that even in this land of good and plenty, there are people who are homeless and go to sleep with fewer than three adequate meals a day. The crisis is more acute for being part a world-wide phenomenon, which has seen the cyclical recession become longer lasting, unleashing waves of new unemployed, and financial uncertainly, and, in some cases, ruin. These thoughts were conveyed to host Manos Tsilimidis, host of the midnight (in Greece
Let us see the day come soon when the condition of freedom from want, insightfully noted by President F.D. Roosevelt in the Four Freedoms, during his annual State of the Union address in 1941, will be eradicated, even as we either conquer of extend the other three: freedom from fear, freedom of worship, and freedom of speech and expression. Amen.
Sincerely, and with fraternal affection,
Asher
Prof. Asher J. Matathias
516-374-2958 Mobile
*Asher, May the Ikeji (Thanksgiving in Ibo) remain ever-present in your family and in your heart. I will call when I return from my trip. Sam Chekwas, Lagos , Nigeria
**Dear Asher, Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family. Yours, Christos (Dr. K.), Philadelphia , PA
*Asher: If the better-off could be assured that their tzedukah would go to feed those who are hungry, and not to line the pockets of those who claimed to benefit the downtrodden, and that their contributions were distributed legitimately to the needy, there would be none of our brothers or sisters hungry. All the Best, Adam E., Hewlett , NY
**Dear Asher, Thank you very much for your Thanksgiving message. Esther and I send you our very best (a bit belated) wishes for Thanksgiving to you, and your beloved family. All the best, H.I.,
West Chester, PA
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