Tank You

"[I]t's easy to observe things well in Rome, because there's so much time lying around all over the place."

—from Analog Rome, one of the tightly crafted and eminently enjoyable short stories comprising David Maizenberg's Invitations to a Bridge Burning.

It's self-evident, but I've been living in the opposite of Rome lately. No time to even watch Rome, despite all the reruns and recyclings, which is probably for the best—there's only so much blood and incest I can handle. (I did happen to catch Pullo's fight with the gladiators in the arena. The British influences are clear; can you say Black Knight?)

But as things wind down a bit for the holiday, I did want to surface to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all and sundry. The post title references a recent but frequently used addition to my son's vocabulary, uttered almost never in the context you might expect—"thanks for that"—but instead in a distinctly highhanded (perhaps British influenced?) manner that hints broadly at what's down the road—"I'll thank you to remove that offending item immediately," sort of thing. But I am thankful he's liberal with the phrase, whatever the context.

So wherever your holiday travels may take you, enjoy the fare, the company, and, of course, grandmother's condominium.