Reaching a State of Readiness After Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend! How many times did you hear, before Thanksgiving, "Are you ready for Thanksgiving"? Do you expect to hear in the upcoming weeks anything like, "Are you ready for Christmas"?

Who knows? Some things in life are predictable and other thngs are unpredictable.

It was just the two of us this year for Thanksgiving, and we tried to prepare for leftovers (especially after losing one of our refrigerators) by stretching the traditional Thanksgiving treats over several meals. But we still have leftovers. One faux pas so far: yesterday was "cook the turkey breast day", and I didn't realize that there was a gravy base packet inside the breast. I guess that makes up for the giblets and neck usually packaged with a whole turkey. But I had never seen one before. The gravy base packet got baked, too.

The plastic packet did not melt. I gamely tried to rescue the contents but some of the thickener had transformed into something resembling masses of amphibian eggs, and would not thin out. Oh, well. I added a can of chicken gravy and served it anyway.

I can't imagine anything like this occurring in, say, France.

Do people fry turkey breasts whole like they do whole turkeys? Frying one of these gravy packets could be a disaster. When I put the leftovers away, I added drippings from baking the turkey breast to the meat to keep it fresh-tasting, but the rescued gravy has been kept separate, perhaps for use with a future batch of aromatic dressing.

But on to some real content:

The Jewish people have become masters of transforming remnants into renewal

he roasted masterpiece that emerges proudly on Thursday afternoon will, by Friday morning, become a pale, slightly accusatory presence concealed in Tupperware or aluminum foil—what a food writer in The New York Times once called a “ghoulish reminder” of the day before—carved, dismembered, and waiting to be transformed into something, anything, edible.

By Friday, it will be turkey noodle soup. By Saturday, turkey enchiladas. By Sunday, turkey sandwiches. And by Monday, we will swear—once again—that we are done with turkey until next November.

But there’s a quiet wisdom buried in all that culinary improvisation. As the late Rabbi Robert Kahn of Houston’s Congregation Emanu El once said: Anyone can cook the turkey. The real creativity, the real art, lies in what we do with the leftovers.

Whenever I think about leftovers—not food, but the leftovers of life—I find myself drawn back to Torah. As Jacob prepares to meet Esau after decades of estrangement, he divides his household, saying in effect: “If one group falls, perhaps a remnant will survive.” Jacob is planning for at least part of his tribe to become, well, leftovers. In the Book of Job, messengers come one after another with catastrophic news, each ending their terrible report with the chilling refrain: “I alone have escaped to tell you.” The last remaining witness. All that is left.

This year—as we look toward Thanksgiving—it feels impossible not to hear echoes of Job. Jewish anxiety has become a constant background hum, especially with the ever-increasing antisemitism coming from all sides. The simple act of gathering in joy feels both necessary and fragile. The story of Job is not ancient history. It is the emotional soundtrack beneath our holiday preparations.

So, before we even carve the turkey, we must ask: What do we do with what remains? What do we do with the fragments—the leftover hope, the leftover courage, the leftover faith—that we carry into this season?

Here is what I know: The Jewish people have become virtuosos of leftovers. . .

Have you prepared some leftovers worth keeping?

Preparing for the Predictable

Niall Ferguson:

Every parent should read @JonHaidt's latest. But note that the kids most resistant to the Devil's brew of smartphones and social media are the ones who are conservative and religious. Secularization paved the way for the descent into despondency that Jon has so ably documented.

Looks like Ferguson is coming around to his wife's point of view. She recently accepted Christianity after years as a famous atheist.

So yes, replace the iPhones with books. But also take the kids to church or synagogue.

Haidt's piece is behind a paywall.

Jonathan Haidt: The Devil's Plan to Ruin the Next Generation

Earlier this year, someone started a viral trend of asking ChatGPT this question: If you were the devil, how would you destroy the next generation, without them even knowing it?

Chat’s responses were profound and unsettling: “I wouldn’t come with violence. I’d come with convenience.” “I’d keep them busy. Always distracted.”

“I’d watch their minds rot slowly, sweetly, silently. And the best part is, they’d never know it was me. They’d call it freedom.”

As a social psychologist who has been trying since 2015 to figure out what on earth was happening to Gen Z, I was stunned. Why? Because what the AI proposed doing is pretty much what technology seems to be doing to children today. It seemed to be saying: If the devil wanted to destroy a generation, he could just give them all smartphones.

The evidence keeps piling up.

Ready for technological changes?

There are some malevolent characteristics of tech described just above. But what if it quits working altogether?

AoSHQ got off pretty light in the recent Cloudflare disruptions. But how would we communicate if something more serious or long-lasting happened?

What if the electrical grid went down?

What are our back-ups? Know anyone who does ham radio?

I have decided that one thing I can do right now is give some people manual can openers that really work for Christmas. And get some cash on hand. I'll be thinking about communications, too.

Got any readiness plans for the near future?

These are some readiness plans at the UN. Makes you wonder if they have read any recent news:

Climate change is deepening inequalities — and increasing the risk of gender-based violence for women and girls.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, let’s act #ForAllWomenAndGirls and build a safer, more climate-resilient future. #16Days pic.twitter.com/bVu6KvMivp

— UN Environment Programme (@UNEP) November 25, 2025

Weekend

VDH discusses a recent event in which he participated, in Bakersfield, CA. He is heartened by the development of some conservative organizations there, in a difficult state, climate, etc. Segment starts at about 41 minutes, just after he discusses the travails of the editorial process for a real book.

On this episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” Victor Davis Hanson and @jackfowler take aim at the six congressional Democrats who called on military members to defy “illegal” orders from the Commander-in-Chief.https://t.co/9GodSjgeSz

— Victor Davis Hanson (@VDHanson) November 26, 2025

There has been some opposition to individual conservatives in Bakersfield in the recent past. If they can make progress there, maybe some other communities can do some similar things.

Music

A different presentation of a familiar pre-Christmas song:

I still like this instrumental, though:

Hope you have something nice planned for this weekend.

This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.

Last week's thread, November 22, Preparing for Thanksgiving - Gratitude

Comments are closed so you won't ban yourself by trying to comment on a week-old thread. But don't try it anyway.

posted by K.T. at 11:01 AM

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