NEWSLETTERS

November 2004
 
"I miss the spice, in the melting pot of our lives / it all goes down easy but it sure ain't got no soul."
"Monopoly" - Terri Hendrix
 
"We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different but they all have to live in the same box."
Unknown  
 
The Pilgrims landed in America in November 1620. Many of them had come to the New World for strictly religious reasons — namely, to get away from the Church of England, whose views they strongly disagreed with. But along with those seeking religious freedom were other colonists who were just looking for a new beginning; among them were merchants, soldiers, craftsman, and a few orphans, and what religious views they individually had didn't necessarily line up with the first bunch. The pollsters broke it down like this: 44 Separatist Puritans, who called themselves "Saints," and 66 non-Separatists, whom the "Saints" called "Strangers." (Those numbers actually vary in different accounts; polls back then weren't any more exact than they are today.) Who knows what these two very different groups of people talked about while they were all crammed together aboard the Mayflower on that cold, wet journey across the Atlantic to Plymouth Rock. My guess is they probably talked a lot about the weather.

The minute their toes touched land, discord between the two groups bubbled to the surface. But just when the tension was reaching a boiling point, peace came by way of the Mayflower Compact, which sewed the seams of the spiritually divided lot, guaranteed equality, and unified the "Saints" and "Strangers." As one, they renamed themselves "Pilgrims," meaning those who journey into foreign lands. In fact, the land was so foreign, less than half survived their first winter in Plymouth. But their luck improved the following spring, when they met an Indian named Squanto — and when I say luck, I mean LUCK: Squanto not only spoke English, but had actually been to England himself. After befriending the Pilgrims — perhaps over small talk about the English weather — Squanto began teaching them how to separate medicinal plants from those that were poisonous, and introduced them to Maple sap. In time, he helped them turn the soil into crops which would later yield fruits and vegetables just in time for harvest. Wanting to celebrate the achievement of having food stockpiled for the upcoming winter, the Pilgrim's Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared by the colonists, Squanto and their other Indian neighbors. As diverse a group to ever gather, they converged in peace for a three-day feast in spite of their racial and religious differences.
 
I'm thinking about Pilgrims (and feasting, preferably on pumpkin pie) not just because Thanksgiving is just a few autumn leaves away, but because it's just too timely a story for me not to repeat. Timely, because this month, with the click of a mouse, those of us that voted have been catapulted into hard drives and blogged into the blogosphere where we've since resurfaced in a map of the United States lazily colored into two groups: Red and Blue. Or dare I say, "Saints" and "Strangers" (or is it "Sinners"?) But I'm not about to let someone perched over a laptop, who launches political propaganda via a mousepad for a living, determine what color I am. In elementary school, I ground my first set of colored pencils down to nubs filling in a map of the United States. I think Alabama had zebra stripes, New York was purple, and Texas was — brace yourself — pink. One thing for sure, had my box that boasted "Crayola" on the front cover come with just two choices, I would have cried on my coloring project. Being geographically challenged, I recently bought a giant map for my office to prevent me from booking a show in the D.C. area one night and a show the next night in Seattle. While at the store, I noticed with relief that none of the maps were available in just red and blue; the one I chose was colored in bright pastels. 
My question is this: If our cell phones alone can do just about everything but give us a back massage, then why can't we be as smart as the Pilgrims were given their limited resources? They knew their survival depended on putting their fear, skin tones, and spiritual differences aside. In doing so, they launched the melting pot that we are now in danger of ruining by ponying up to a cookbook filled with recipes grounded in fear, hate, and "us" against "them" philosophies. I have staunch beliefs that I won't budge on. So do my friends. We are as diverse a group that has ever come together (in this century), but we cherish all that makes us different. Of course, my opinions are right and theirs are wrong (just joking), but we agree to disagree. And beyond our good taste in friendship, we have one very big thing in common. As taxpayers, we are tired of those that run our government in their red and blue suits remaining oblivious to the needs of those that put them in office.
 
There is much for me to be thankful for in my life. As I think on this and gorge on pumpkin pie, I'll also be saluting the Pilgrims for creating something that is indeed cause to celebrate. Peace. Maybe we "Saints" and "Strangers" will rise from the red and blue states the bloggers deemed appropriate for us and, as fellow Pilgrims, learn to follow their example. And maybe, if we're lucky, someday our own Squanto will come along. It could happen again, just like it did in 1620. And should this come to pass, maybe we'll set aside our differences so we can elect this individual into office to reveal the wonders of the land to us.  
Happy trails,
Terri Hendrix
 
P.S.Feel free to pass GoatNotes to others!
Email additions and deletions: terri@terrihendrix.com

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