When I was a young lad, my father was a Navy chief. Since he was away for six months out of the year, my mother never bothered to celebrate Thanksgiving. In fact, it wasn't until my sister first attended grade school that we had even heard of Thanksgiving. Apparently she came home one day and asked my mom what this "Thanksgiving" thing was that she'd been hearing about at school.

Last year we had four generations celebrating Thanksgiving together. My grandfather drove up from down South, and my sister, brother-in-law, and 6-month old nephew flew in from the Left Coast. This year my sister's family can't make it, and my grandfather has since passed on. But I'll still make the journey home to celebrate with my parents.

I am a kind overlord. The Staff Writers have been let go early and Ravenwood's Universe will be shutting down over the holiday. No new content will be posted until at least Monday morning.

But don't fret. Rather than reading websites, you should be spending time with your family and being thankful for everything that is good in your life. Personally, I encourage everyone to live by The General's motto.

Live the good life. Drink, smoke, gamble, feast, joke, fornicate and be tolerant of those who do. Take risks and thrive for the good challenge. Work hard and play hard without going over the edge. Live in the moment. Believe in moderation in all things, including moderation. Live it up!

Life is finite, so you might as well enjoy it while you can. Here's to you and yours. Thank you for reading Ravenwood's Universe, now go eat some turkey.

Regards,

Ravenwood