Happy Thanksgiving, Pats Planet

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

"People have always loved my grandfather's painting, "Freedom From Want", which first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post -- it's been celebrated and even lampooned many times. It is a painting about connection and the celebration of that connection.

No one is looking at the turkey or the grandmother and grandfather and no one is praying and giving thanks -- it's what I call the "happy error" of the painting. Norman Rockwell was all about faces and interactions; if he painted everyone looking down and praying or at the grandparents and the turkey, you wouldn't be able to see any of their faces or interactions. Everyone is connecting with someone -- the woman on the left is my grandmother, Mary, who is conversing with the attractive woman across the table, the old woman is my great grandmother, Pop's mother, and she's looking at Mary. The two men are interacting in the middle of the table (you just can't see the one man's face); the grandparents have a lovely, quiet, unspoken connection -- the grandfather is clearly there to support her if the turkey gets too heavy. The man looking out at us is there to bring us into the moment, to invite us in.

The act of setting the turkey on the table brings movement into the painting to avoid it looking stagnant. You can almost hear the various lively exchanges at the table. And who is at the other end of the table? I can almost feel Pop's presence there.

Enjoy your time with your family. In the end, that is what holidays are about. It's not about getting the turkey with all its trimmings just right, its not about creating the perfect tablescape. It's about family coming together to celebrate the simplest things -- love and gratitude.

Warmest wishes,

Abigail

P.S. Pop always felt he had made the turkey too big. He also used to joke that the turkey was the only model he ever ate!"
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Happy Thanksgiving to all!

"People have always loved my grandfather's painting, "Freedom From Want", which first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post -- it's been celebrated and even lampooned many times. It is a painting about connection and the celebration of that connection.

No one is looking at the turkey or the grandmother and grandfather and no one is praying and giving thanks -- it's what I call the "happy error" of the painting. Norman Rockwell was all about faces and interactions; if he painted everyone looking down and praying or at the grandparents and the turkey, you wouldn't be able to see any of their faces or interactions. Everyone is connecting with someone -- the woman on the left is my grandmother, Mary, who is conversing with the attractive woman across the table, the old woman is my great grandmother, Pop's mother, and she's looking at Mary. The two men are interacting in the middle of the table (you just can't see the one man's face); the grandparents have a lovely, quiet, unspoken connection -- the grandfather is clearly there to support her if the turkey gets too heavy. The man looking out at us is there to bring us into the moment, to invite us in.

The act of setting the turkey on the table brings movement into the painting to avoid it looking stagnant. You can almost hear the various lively exchanges at the table. And who is at the other end of the table? I can almost feel Pop's presence there.

Enjoy your time with your family. In the end, that is what holidays are about. It's not about getting the turkey with all its trimmings just right, its not about creating the perfect tablescape. It's about family coming together to celebrate the simplest things -- love and gratitude.

Warmest wishes,

Abigail

P.S. Pop always felt he had made the turkey too big. He also used to joke that the turkey was the only model he ever ate!"
View attachment 13989
That is awesome John. Thank you so much for sharing. That is exactly what thanksgiving is about and so perfectly captured in this painting. Being with everybody you love and just enjoying each other‘s company. I had a great loss this year, so Thanksgiving has even more meaning for me than I did in the past. It’s always been one of my favorite holidays. As a child I always loved Christmas for obvious reasons but as I grew into an adult I have come to love Thanksgiving more because of the closeness and being with everyone.

I hope you and yours have a great day!
 
That is awesome John. Thank you so much for sharing. That is exactly what thanksgiving is about and so perfectly captured in this painting. Being with everybody you love and just enjoying each other‘s company. I had a great loss this year, so Thanksgiving has even more meaning for me than I did in the past. It’s always been one of my favorite holidays. As a child I always loved Christmas for obvious reasons but as I grew into an adult I have come to love Thanksgiving more because of the closeness and being with everyone.

I hope you and yours have a great day!

You're very welcome.

I'm saddened to hear of your loss.

Happy Thanksgiving Mazz. :patslogo26:
 
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. It’s a great holiday, not commercial like the others. Would love to have it over here!
 
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!

🦃🦃🦃

Love to see the Lions beat the Bills for a couple of obvious reasons.
If the Lions have a chance at sneaking in the playoffs they need to Giants to lose. Go Cowpokes!

GO PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!
 
For the game-players out there, it's an opportunity to get a Wordle solution in one guess.

(It took me two today.) :banana::dancingcucumber::banana:
 
Happy Thanksgiving to all!

"People have always loved my grandfather's painting, "Freedom From Want", which first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post -- it's been celebrated and even lampooned many times. It is a painting about connection and the celebration of that connection.

No one is looking at the turkey or the grandmother and grandfather and no one is praying and giving thanks -- it's what I call the "happy error" of the painting. Norman Rockwell was all about faces and interactions; if he painted everyone looking down and praying or at the grandparents and the turkey, you wouldn't be able to see any of their faces or interactions. Everyone is connecting with someone -- the woman on the left is my grandmother, Mary, who is conversing with the attractive woman across the table, the old woman is my great grandmother, Pop's mother, and she's looking at Mary. The two men are interacting in the middle of the table (you just can't see the one man's face); the grandparents have a lovely, quiet, unspoken connection -- the grandfather is clearly there to support her if the turkey gets too heavy. The man looking out at us is there to bring us into the moment, to invite us in.

The act of setting the turkey on the table brings movement into the painting to avoid it looking stagnant. You can almost hear the various lively exchanges at the table. And who is at the other end of the table? I can almost feel Pop's presence there.

Enjoy your time with your family. In the end, that is what holidays are about. It's not about getting the turkey with all its trimmings just right, its not about creating the perfect tablescape. It's about family coming together to celebrate the simplest things -- love and gratitude.

Warmest wishes,

Abigail

P.S. Pop always felt he had made the turkey too big. He also used to joke that the turkey was the only model he ever ate!"
View attachment 13989
Interesting that he thought the turkey was too big. Today it would be considered scrawny! 🦃
 
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