The other night my husband and I went to the neighborhood H2. That's what we call the neighbor Happy Hour. Our newest residents are originally from New Orleans, and they didn't just put out drinks and open the door. They brought a live jazz band reminiscent of a second line.
If you've never been in a second line, I won't explain it, but instead encourage you to ask someone about it (or better yet, be a part of one) because that is really the theme of this month's blog: Discover → Appreciate → Explore → Remember.
Someone standing next to me asked if we'd seen a recent TV program about New Orleans culture being lost. It hurt my heart.
I have a connection with New Orleans, and that question stayed with me because I could only picture what we would lose if that culture was gone.
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Culture is not simply a museum exhibit from history, a passage in a text book, or only applicable to certain groups of people.
American culture is strong. It's not one flavor, one coastline, one skyline, or one homogenous set of rules. Different parts of this country feel different on purpose. New Orleans is not Chicago. Chicago is not the Jersey shore. The Midwest in October is not Rockefeller Center in December. Those differences aren't a wrinkle to smooth out. They are the design.
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I don’t want to lose Zydeco or Jambalaya. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to lose a fully dressed Philly Cheese Steak or a Chicago hot dog.
And if you really want to get down to it, we can talk about the finer points of hot dogs from West Virginia, Cincinnati, or diverge into conversations about brats and metts.
I can't imagine a summer without boardwalk pizza in New Jersey, and the only thing I want to argue about is sliced or squared.
I stubbornly refuse the thought of autumn without a corn maze somewhere in the middle of the country and talks of who grew the biggest pumpkin.
I never want a Christmas without the perfect tree at Rockefeller Center.
These things, and so many more like them, are America.
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Before the H2, I was running errands, getting finishing touches for my autumnal yet southern porch decor, so that my family would be thoroughly welcomed from the North for Thanksgiving. I saw a poignant sign while I was out that simply said, "It's O.K. to love America."
It is.
I know a sentence like that can sound like it's picking a side, and I'm not picking one here because that is not what 50x50 is about.
50x50 is about promoting Discovery → Appreciation → Exploration → Remembrance.
Appreciation is often the quiet one of these, and the one that gets trampled by opinions, debate, arguments, and sometimes downright suppression.
November reminds us to be thankful for so many reasons: the foundation of this country; our veterans who protect her every day; the ability to gather.
We at 50x50 say go further. Thankful can be brief, and its own definition describes it as immediate and often temporary. We encourage you to appreciate: Recognize the value, quality, effort, or significance of someone or something for longer than a single moment. Dance when the second line starts walking. Eat the thing the way locals eat it. Go through the corn maze twice and stay for the bonfire afterwards. Then tell everyone you know why it was great and remember it for as long as you can.
It's all America. It's okay to love her❤️
Travel is the best way I know to get firsthand knowledge of the abundant joy and life here in the USA. I hope you find these things we’ve seen and even more. We at 50x50 wish you the most abundant, joyous, and lively of Thanksgivings.
~Safe Travels
(P.S. Many things we appreciate below)
