Each day as we have fewer and fewer hours of sunlight and the leaves share their vibrant colors before falling to the ground, there are a great number of emotions that course through me. We are presented every fall with a stark reminder of the inevitability of change. This is not the change of spring with new flowers and fresh growth. This is the change of decay, aging, and the slide into cold, deep stillness. There is a very good reason why cultures all around the world have developed elaborate traditions to celebrate light and birth in the middle of winter, but we aren’t there yet (even though stores are doing their best to rush us). Let us take a moment to reflect on the present moment.

There is a reason we give thanks at this time of year. Since humans started practicing agriculture so many generations ago, this is the season of harvesting and making sure our larders are full for the times that lie between now and when things will grow again. In this modern era when we can get food from a local store virtually 24/7, it is possible to forget this seasonal passage, but I remember some great tasting tomatoes this summer and I know I won’t revisit that flavor and texture until next summer. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of picking some late-season raspberries and I knew at that moment that their sun-warmed sugars that melted on my tongue were fleeting. Yes, we can freeze, pickle, and ship across incredible distances, but the flavor is never quite the same.

Last weekend I was spending some time with friends who grew up and still have family in Canada. Their son is in college in Montreal and we were talking about the challenges of not having a Thanksgiving break in his schedule. Canadians have their own Thanksgiving celebration on the second Monday of October. This is the same day as the contentious U.S. federal holiday of Columbus day, which many communities are renaming Indiginous Peoples Day. On the fourth Thursday in November I have other friends who have an annual tradition of going to Plymouth AKA Plimuth/Patuxet not to celebrate but to participate in the National Day of Mourning. How can we respect the efforts to celebrate Italian and American culture while simultaneously recognizing the human rights abuses that were suffered upon generations after generations of people on these same shores?

In the last Morrill Moment I recorded with Norwood Community Media I featured a couple of books that I’d like to mention again. If you haven’t seen any of the Morrill Moments yet, you can catch up on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/MorrillMemorialLibrary. These are short videos we are creating every month to let you know the latest library news and I always feature a couple items from our collection. David Silverman wrote This Land is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving. This non-fiction book encourages us to rethink our country’s mythic beginnings and how we tell the story of Thanksgiving.

I hope you will take some time to deeply reflect about our shared stories, what we choose to celebrate, what adventures we want to remember with joy and what we have to remember to avoid repeating. There are plenty of opportunities for pride and grief. Both are real and we do ourselves a grave disservice when we neglect or over-emphasize either. And every day we also just need to eat.

Hopefully you’ll be able to share some food this season with people you care about. Whether it is the family you were born into, the family you’ve chosen, or even just your own company, food nourishes while connecting us with our values and cultural traditions. Since every day I’m surrounded by so many more books than anyone could ever read in many lifetimes, I’ve seriously limited how many books I personally own. However, I continue to collect cookbooks because a good cookbook is something I will turn to time and again for inspiration and sustenance. I like to borrow cookbooks from the library before I decide if they need a spot in my personal collection. I encourage you to do the same. Perhaps you’d like to start with Anna Thomas’ book Vegan, Vegetarian, Omnivore: Dinner for everyone at the table. With beautiful photographs and a very welcoming and inclusive style, this book can help make everyone feel welcome at meal time.

As you may have guessed, I enjoy eating an exclusively plant-based diet. I appreciate that everyone has to make their own choices and I have no interest in standing on a soapbox to tell you what you should or should not do. I’m happy to talk with you about my choices if you’re interested, but you will have to ask first. That said, the most recent book I added to my personal collection is from the creative team now going by the name Bad Manners. They used to be known as Thug Kitchen but for reasons I won’t go into they’ve changed their name (you can learn more about their reasons on their website: https://www.badmanners.com/change). Their latest book is Brave New Meal and if profanity doesn’t bother you and you like fresh flavors and beautiful photos of food, I strongly recommend it. They have some previous books that I also enjoy, and if you have a large number of people coming together you may be inspired by Bad Manners: Party Grub, but in our catalog it will be easier to get a copy if you search for Thug Kitchen: Party Grub. 

However you spend your time this fall, I implore you – don’t race to the next season, even if the Christmas displays at your local store have already been up for weeks. Take a walk in the woods, spend some time with friends, eat some good food, and appreciate the good things in life. Make sure you tell people what you are thankful for. I’m so thankful to be working here in Norwood with a great team of librarians and library staff, caring and dedicated peers working across town departments, the greatest Board of Library Trustees I could ever ask for, tireless Friends, community members who share their personal time and passions to make Norwood and the world a better place for us all, and all the people who came before me here to make all of this possible. I’m grateful to my personal friends near and far, to my family, and especially to my two incredible children and amazing best friend, life-partner, and wife. 

Thank you for reading. I wish you and yours the best Thanksgiving possible.

Clayton Cheever is the Director of the Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood, MA. Look for his article in the November 25, 2021 issue of the Transcript and Bulletin.