Thanksgiving Day

Thursday, 28 November 2019

In celebration of this past year's good fortune, and as a means to calm my excitement so that I might finish this holiday season with the utmost sobriety and clearness of mind, I purchased a case of Las Rocas red wine within the third week of my arrival in my new First Hill apartment.

I had discovered the wine already in 2016 at the WestLake WholeFoods store in Seattle as it was becoming clear that I was not going to find employment before my savings ran out.

During my three years of homelessness WholeFoods expanded and built a store at the corner of Broadway and Madison right across the street from the Silver Cloud and Jimmy's where I watched my first and only Republican presidential debate in 2016.

When I returned to Jimmy's to watch my second debate I was told that they would not show it. Three attempts later at various other First Hill locations I was still unable to find a local tavern that would air the Republican debate. I never bothered to ask to watch a Democratic presidential debate, because it was clear that First Hill Seattleites are politically-speaking brain dead, anyway.

Was there not a time once in American history where it was the pub where you went to discuss politics?

When I went to pick up the organic turkey that I had ordered from the new WholeFoods store, I was told that I could cancel my order without penalty and balked. I had since learned that the St. James Cathedral would be serving a Thanksgiving Day dinner, and that my credit rating as listed by Credit Wise had increased from 642 (Average) to 706 (Good). So as not to jeopardize my still hopeful purchase of a new iMac and iPhone with an Apple lease before the year's end, I settled for an expensive candle from the QFC where I had purchased my first case of Las Rocas -- in fact, the first case of wine that I have purchased in my now somewhat long lifetime. The candle will surely last to the end of the holiday season. Hopefully it will be enough to stave off my desire to purchase my first live Christmas tree, as well.

If I am able, I will change wines and purchase a different blend from the same bodegas (winery) as that of my previous order and purchase. The name Las Rocas is simply no longer as meaningful as it once was -- and this, for several reasons: one, I no longer feel as stranded as I once felt; two, I am less inclined to throw rocks at the society that surely placed me there -- this, despite my own figurative glass enclosure having thickened significantly while stranded; and three, the new label (see photo above), though more reflective of the winery's producer advantage is no longer appealing.

In contrast, the name Alexander (Alejandro) after whom many Catholic saints have been named has its earliest mention in the persons of Alexander and Caius who were Christian companions active in the city of Apamea -- a city of Phrygia (a region in modern-day Turkey) during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (121-180 A.D.), the Roman emperor. Apamea was a center of Montanist heresy and both Alexander and Caisu were martyred as a result of their conviction. This aspect of the winery I still find attractive, and if I can obtain my newly selected blend I will speak of it before the year's end. It has a religious twist that you may well enjoy even if you are a Christian.