Each year for the past three decades or so, my wife celebrates Thanksgiving with a festive meal on the last Thursday of November. God bless her. On this day, I am of little help or of much mirth because I note that Mr. Lincoln proclaimed that day as one of “national day of observance” and then told us in his October 3, 1863 Proclamation about , among other things, [a] his concerns for the mourners and sufferers during the “civil strife “in which Americans were then “unavoidably” engaged (although Mr. Lincoln could have and should have avoided this incredibly destructive War Against the States, which haunts us still) and [b] his call upon the Almighty to heal the wounds of many and to restore the Union… all consistent with Divine purposes. I refuse to acknowledge this day for which a tyrant proclaimed we should give of thanks to God for the sacrifice/slaughter of hundreds of thousands in a war he could have prevented and for their blood which would bind together his Union. Well, at least there are football games on the tube on Thanksgiving.
A fine and important reflection. Particularly important for those of us who appreciate the authentic history which can sustain us through the choking smoke of fantasy associated with our nation’s founders and, of course, the sainted Abe, that we are swamped with at this time of year.
Despite Mr. Shofner’s excellent points, I celebrate the day as a time for expressing special gratitude for “every good gift and every perfect gift that comes to us from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” and reminding myself of the Psalms admonition to not put any faith in princes.
Football, turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie help to sooth the nerves and, even at this advanced age, I’ve recently developed an interest in the medicinal properties of bourbon. Being a neophyte to this particular hobby, suggestions are most welcome from this august body!
Fun to listen too and I did not know about John Smith fighting Turks.
Did President Davis have a Thanksgiving proclamation before Lincoln. Maybe he simply did not establish an annual day and that’s why it wasn’t mentioned? I will have to look at that.
Thank you Dr. Fleming and Rex.
Mr. Colin, the venerable, if not immortal, Andrew Lytle introduced to me in his Monteagle home over 30 years ago, in one of his renown silver goblets, Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. Mr. Lytle spent his life pursuing many magnificent goals, including finding the world’s grandest bourbon. He proclaimed this whiskey the finest. He was, of course, right. I used to stock this bourbon. Don’t now; it is extremely expensive and almost impossible to find. If you can’t get your hands on, and your taste buds around, ole Pappy, try Blanton’s. Fairly expensive, but it is available…the last time I looked.
Thank you, Mr. Shofner very much for your kind response. The good news is that I located a spot that has Ole Pappy’s bourbon; the bad news is unless I can con Hunter Biden into thinking I have access to Ukrainian or Chinese VIPs and thus bribes me with a bottle, the cost is beyond my range. I also found that a nearby shop has Blanton’s, but as you say, there is sticker shock on that, too. Any suggestions for more humble offerings from which to partake will be welcome. Your mention of Mr. Lytle does make me think a re-reading of his estimable Bedford Forrest book, with a nice dram at my side, would make a good late autumn pursuit.
When I read the title I knew that the Turk’s heads had to come into it. I sat on the edge of my seat almost to the very end, but was not disappointed. Thanks to you both.
Mr. Colin, because I am a Tennessee man, I lean somewhat towards our local products when looking for whiskey. For what it may be worth, you might want to sample a bottle of single barrel, 86 proof, George Dickel, which is distilled in Tullahoma and which distillery was, years ago, owned in part by one of my cousins, Norman Davis (his grandmother was a Shofner). NOTE: This whiskey is made just a few miles from the world famous Jack Daniels distillery located in Lynchburg; however, I would eschew this distillery’s most popular brand (Old No. 7). It is bad for the palate and the brain.
I will certainly pick up the George Dickel, single barrel – thanks again for the recommendation, Mr. Shofner. I salute your commitment to your home state whiskey and that family connection makes it all the more interesting to me. There is a shop about a mile from me that carries it; they have it prominently displayed, so it must be popular here in Eastern Ohio, too.
John Smith is one of those fellows the more learned about him the more there is to like. It’s a crime he doesn’t feature more prominently in popular American lore.
Well, our Guru Dr. Fleming might soften his comments about George Washington in light of Washington being the guy that took away our Bonfire Night celebrations of the deliverance of our Mother Country from the plot of Guy Fawkes on November 5th.
Americans had brought over Bonfire Night with them and we celebrated it here….
Until the proto-leftist George Washington ordered the practice suppressed in the American army because it was an insult to his Roman Catholic soldiers.
Fleming must be smiling a wicked, gloating smile from ear to ear in reading this and revising his ideas about Washington.
Sam Dickson
P.S. The Puritans came to Plymouth Rock on a boat only a little bigger than a shrimp boat. 120+ people crammed into it. Not enough food. Half of them died of salvation the first winter.
But…they brought a PRINTING PRESS WITH THEM! BECAUSE THEY INTENDED TO WRITE BOOKS!!!!
We Southerners could learn a lot from this. No Southerner ever missed a meal for a printing press.
No wonder New England was able to get American history written from a New England perspective.
My dear grandfather spent the last twenty years of his life trying to find an ancestor who floated over the Atlantic on the Mayflower so that he could could join the Mayflower Society. Thank God his search ended in failure.
The Ole Pappy has become a snob Bourbon since Mr. Andrew quitted the scene. I shall never forget one night long ago in Chicago. I was in charge of a lovely formal dinner to honor Mr Lytle and anIndian-British novelist I’d rather not name. The dinner was to be preceded by a lavish cocktail party at the Drake. In attendance were Mel Bradford, Clyde Wilson, Sam Francis, and we were summoned to Mr Andrew’s room, where his young assistant was instructed to give these gentleman two or three fingers of bourbon. After a couple of fistfuls of fingers, we proceeded to the cocktail party and the dinner–medium rare lamb chops with excellent wine (I was also in charge of the menu). Andrew called me a few days later to tell me he was finally recovering, but the evening was worth every minute he had spent in bed afterwards. As Sean O’Casey’s Captain Boyle exclaims, “Them was days!”
How unfortunate that no CD of that dinner conversation exists! What an incredible collection of minds! I’m tempted to guess the unnamed writer, but I shouldn’t waste time on speculative BS – or maybe VS?
I want to report that Mr. Shofner’s Tennessee whiskey recommendation was acquired and sampled last night – to much satisfaction!
The Bourbon snobs and couple of unfortunate incidents have made Pappy hard to find and very, very expensive. I used to buy it often before the word got out. Less than twenty years ago a gave a bottle of 23 year-old Family Reserve as a gift. As I write this I’m sipping cheap Bourbon (Wild Turkey 101) knowing I’ll probably never afford another bottle of Pappy.
I was reflecting on the absurdity of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as an American Tradition. It seems like a perfect encapsulation of modern America. It’s a humongous advertising stunt put on by Macy’s that gets other companies to push their brand by contributing their own gigantic inflatable advertisements to parade down the streets of the financial capital of the country to culminate in a Santa Claus float, the symbol of the modern consumerist holiday that replaced Christmas, and all in November before Advent has even begun. And it’s watched (or used to be watched) by millions all over the country that have no ties or interest in New York whatsoever, but at least they can focus their time on images on a screen instead of interacting with the family sitting next to them. And there’s nothing Thankful about it in the least.
I never really thought twice about it until I tried to explain it to my kids, and then the absurdity of the entire thing struck me.
My brother, who has been cultivating an expensive taste in Bourbon over the years, tried to elevate my consumption not long ago. He introduced me to Blanton’s (the variable stopper idea is brilliant marketing!), and others whose names I don’t remember, and they all tasted good to me, but not good enough to pay that much more money on a regular basis (my tastes are stubbornly low brow in many ways). We do have a local distillery that makes a decent top shelf Bourbon, Bowman Brother’s Pioneer Spirit, but they’re more famous for their lower shelf product, Virginia Gentlemen. They claim to be the largest Bourbon distillery outside of Kentucky, and I do recommend one take their tour if ever in the area. The tour is nice, and the samples at the end are nicer, especially if one takes along a spouse that isn’t particularly fond of Bourbon so one can double one’s own samples.
Ive been drinking different grades of Dickel for some time. It is drier than most bourbons an. d lacks some of the unpleasant vanilla and banana undertones of Jack D. Of course it is made by one of the mafioso conglomerate that control the whiskey business and encourage me to turn to gin, but for years Dickels have been my mainstay. Is there an affordable good bourbon not made by one of the Five Global Whiskey families?
I’m apparently even more fortunate than I thought with Mr. Shofner’s recommendation of Dickel Barrel Select 86; thinking I would buy another for a Thanksgiving gift, the owner of the shop told me it is now in limited distribution and very hard to acquire! He told me I was fortunate to get his last bottle – at that price. If he is able to get more, it will be considerably more expensive.
The Reign of Love, a sequel to The Morality of Everyday Life, proposes a constructive alternative to the abstract ideologies that dominate both Left and Right. Now available from the TFF Store. Hardcover now available!
Each year for the past three decades or so, my wife celebrates Thanksgiving with a festive meal on the last Thursday of November. God bless her. On this day, I am of little help or of much mirth because I note that Mr. Lincoln proclaimed that day as one of “national day of observance” and then told us in his October 3, 1863 Proclamation about , among other things, [a] his concerns for the mourners and sufferers during the “civil strife “in which Americans were then “unavoidably” engaged (although Mr. Lincoln could have and should have avoided this incredibly destructive War Against the States, which haunts us still) and [b] his call upon the Almighty to heal the wounds of many and to restore the Union… all consistent with Divine purposes. I refuse to acknowledge this day for which a tyrant proclaimed we should give of thanks to God for the sacrifice/slaughter of hundreds of thousands in a war he could have prevented and for their blood which would bind together his Union. Well, at least there are football games on the tube on Thanksgiving.
A fine and important reflection. Particularly important for those of us who appreciate the authentic history which can sustain us through the choking smoke of fantasy associated with our nation’s founders and, of course, the sainted Abe, that we are swamped with at this time of year.
Despite Mr. Shofner’s excellent points, I celebrate the day as a time for expressing special gratitude for “every good gift and every perfect gift that comes to us from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” and reminding myself of the Psalms admonition to not put any faith in princes.
Football, turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie help to sooth the nerves and, even at this advanced age, I’ve recently developed an interest in the medicinal properties of bourbon. Being a neophyte to this particular hobby, suggestions are most welcome from this august body!
Fun to listen too and I did not know about John Smith fighting Turks.
Did President Davis have a Thanksgiving proclamation before Lincoln. Maybe he simply did not establish an annual day and that’s why it wasn’t mentioned? I will have to look at that.
Thank you Dr. Fleming and Rex.
Mr. Colin, the venerable, if not immortal, Andrew Lytle introduced to me in his Monteagle home over 30 years ago, in one of his renown silver goblets, Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. Mr. Lytle spent his life pursuing many magnificent goals, including finding the world’s grandest bourbon. He proclaimed this whiskey the finest. He was, of course, right. I used to stock this bourbon. Don’t now; it is extremely expensive and almost impossible to find. If you can’t get your hands on, and your taste buds around, ole Pappy, try Blanton’s. Fairly expensive, but it is available…the last time I looked.
I think one has to go back to the original settlers and the first nations people in Plymouth, MA. Happy Thanksgiving.
Thank you, Mr. Shofner very much for your kind response. The good news is that I located a spot that has Ole Pappy’s bourbon; the bad news is unless I can con Hunter Biden into thinking I have access to Ukrainian or Chinese VIPs and thus bribes me with a bottle, the cost is beyond my range. I also found that a nearby shop has Blanton’s, but as you say, there is sticker shock on that, too. Any suggestions for more humble offerings from which to partake will be welcome. Your mention of Mr. Lytle does make me think a re-reading of his estimable Bedford Forrest book, with a nice dram at my side, would make a good late autumn pursuit.
When I read the title I knew that the Turk’s heads had to come into it. I sat on the edge of my seat almost to the very end, but was not disappointed. Thanks to you both.
Mr. Colin, because I am a Tennessee man, I lean somewhat towards our local products when looking for whiskey. For what it may be worth, you might want to sample a bottle of single barrel, 86 proof, George Dickel, which is distilled in Tullahoma and which distillery was, years ago, owned in part by one of my cousins, Norman Davis (his grandmother was a Shofner). NOTE: This whiskey is made just a few miles from the world famous Jack Daniels distillery located in Lynchburg; however, I would eschew this distillery’s most popular brand (Old No. 7). It is bad for the palate and the brain.
I will certainly pick up the George Dickel, single barrel – thanks again for the recommendation, Mr. Shofner. I salute your commitment to your home state whiskey and that family connection makes it all the more interesting to me. There is a shop about a mile from me that carries it; they have it prominently displayed, so it must be popular here in Eastern Ohio, too.
John Smith is one of those fellows the more learned about him the more there is to like. It’s a crime he doesn’t feature more prominently in popular American lore.
Well, our Guru Dr. Fleming might soften his comments about George Washington in light of Washington being the guy that took away our Bonfire Night celebrations of the deliverance of our Mother Country from the plot of Guy Fawkes on November 5th.
Americans had brought over Bonfire Night with them and we celebrated it here….
Until the proto-leftist George Washington ordered the practice suppressed in the American army because it was an insult to his Roman Catholic soldiers.
Fleming must be smiling a wicked, gloating smile from ear to ear in reading this and revising his ideas about Washington.
Sam Dickson
P.S. The Puritans came to Plymouth Rock on a boat only a little bigger than a shrimp boat. 120+ people crammed into it. Not enough food. Half of them died of salvation the first winter.
But…they brought a PRINTING PRESS WITH THEM! BECAUSE THEY INTENDED TO WRITE BOOKS!!!!
We Southerners could learn a lot from this. No Southerner ever missed a meal for a printing press.
No wonder New England was able to get American history written from a New England perspective.
My dear grandfather spent the last twenty years of his life trying to find an ancestor who floated over the Atlantic on the Mayflower so that he could could join the Mayflower Society. Thank God his search ended in failure.
The Ole Pappy has become a snob Bourbon since Mr. Andrew quitted the scene. I shall never forget one night long ago in Chicago. I was in charge of a lovely formal dinner to honor Mr Lytle and anIndian-British novelist I’d rather not name. The dinner was to be preceded by a lavish cocktail party at the Drake. In attendance were Mel Bradford, Clyde Wilson, Sam Francis, and we were summoned to Mr Andrew’s room, where his young assistant was instructed to give these gentleman two or three fingers of bourbon. After a couple of fistfuls of fingers, we proceeded to the cocktail party and the dinner–medium rare lamb chops with excellent wine (I was also in charge of the menu). Andrew called me a few days later to tell me he was finally recovering, but the evening was worth every minute he had spent in bed afterwards. As Sean O’Casey’s Captain Boyle exclaims, “Them was days!”
How unfortunate that no CD of that dinner conversation exists! What an incredible collection of minds! I’m tempted to guess the unnamed writer, but I shouldn’t waste time on speculative BS – or maybe VS?
I want to report that Mr. Shofner’s Tennessee whiskey recommendation was acquired and sampled last night – to much satisfaction!
The Bourbon snobs and couple of unfortunate incidents have made Pappy hard to find and very, very expensive. I used to buy it often before the word got out. Less than twenty years ago a gave a bottle of 23 year-old Family Reserve as a gift. As I write this I’m sipping cheap Bourbon (Wild Turkey 101) knowing I’ll probably never afford another bottle of Pappy.
Mr. Colin, I pleased to hear that you enjoyed the George Dickel, Barrel Select, 86 proof. It ain’t Pappy, but it ain’t bad.
I was reflecting on the absurdity of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as an American Tradition. It seems like a perfect encapsulation of modern America. It’s a humongous advertising stunt put on by Macy’s that gets other companies to push their brand by contributing their own gigantic inflatable advertisements to parade down the streets of the financial capital of the country to culminate in a Santa Claus float, the symbol of the modern consumerist holiday that replaced Christmas, and all in November before Advent has even begun. And it’s watched (or used to be watched) by millions all over the country that have no ties or interest in New York whatsoever, but at least they can focus their time on images on a screen instead of interacting with the family sitting next to them. And there’s nothing Thankful about it in the least.
I never really thought twice about it until I tried to explain it to my kids, and then the absurdity of the entire thing struck me.
My brother, who has been cultivating an expensive taste in Bourbon over the years, tried to elevate my consumption not long ago. He introduced me to Blanton’s (the variable stopper idea is brilliant marketing!), and others whose names I don’t remember, and they all tasted good to me, but not good enough to pay that much more money on a regular basis (my tastes are stubbornly low brow in many ways). We do have a local distillery that makes a decent top shelf Bourbon, Bowman Brother’s Pioneer Spirit, but they’re more famous for their lower shelf product, Virginia Gentlemen. They claim to be the largest Bourbon distillery outside of Kentucky, and I do recommend one take their tour if ever in the area. The tour is nice, and the samples at the end are nicer, especially if one takes along a spouse that isn’t particularly fond of Bourbon so one can double one’s own samples.
Ive been drinking different grades of Dickel for some time. It is drier than most bourbons an. d lacks some of the unpleasant vanilla and banana undertones of Jack D. Of course it is made by one of the mafioso conglomerate that control the whiskey business and encourage me to turn to gin, but for years Dickels have been my mainstay. Is there an affordable good bourbon not made by one of the Five Global Whiskey families?
Wonder how turkey stuffing would taste if bourbon was added to it.
I’m apparently even more fortunate than I thought with Mr. Shofner’s recommendation of Dickel Barrel Select 86; thinking I would buy another for a Thanksgiving gift, the owner of the shop told me it is now in limited distribution and very hard to acquire! He told me I was fortunate to get his last bottle – at that price. If he is able to get more, it will be considerably more expensive.