Marathon running

Abby is home from school today. It appears she has some variation of the flu-flu. I'm not sure if this is better or worse than the alternatives: a) a vicious stomach bug that is wiping out half the elementary school and the kids in our branch or b)strep--painful, treatable and HIGHLY contagious. We're supposed to have Thanksgiving on Saturday. Allyson has a babysitting job. Abby has a birthday party for her delightful British friend Beth--a purple birthday party at that. I have to COOK. And cook, and cook, and cook. I don't have time to be sick and neither does anyone else in our family. We have broken out the bottles of hand sanitizer and antibacterial soap. Everyone is ordered to bed early. I can't be sick next week either. I'm leaving for Berlin on Thursday December 4 at the crack of dawn. Escaping the clutches of Mother Russia for three days requires health, strength and endurance. I will not allow this country to infect me with one of the myriad viruses or bacteria that loom on every door handle and in every metro car this time of year. There are turkeys to be brined and German Christmas goodies to be bought. This is WILLPOWER in action--and having a healthy supply of NyQuil Daytime Cold and Flu on hand. What can't be done with the mind must be done with American pharmaceuticals this time of year. I'm just saying... BEST THANKSGIVING TELEVISION EPISODES 1. "A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving" Gilmore Girls (2002) 2. "The One Where Ross Got High" Friends 1999 3. "The One With All The Thanksgivings" Friends 1998 4. "Shibboleth" The West Wing 2000 5. "Thanksgiving" Northern Exposure 1992 Courtesy of "The West Wing" Wikiquote website, I bring you Aaron Sorkin's take on Thanksgiving, "Shibboleth.": Sam: Over three and a half centuries ago, linked by faith and bound by a common desire for liberty, a small band of pilgrims sought out a place in the New World where they could worship according to their own beliefs... and solve crimes. Toby: Sam... Sam: It'd be good. By day, they churn butter and worship according to their own beliefs, and by night they solve crimes. Toby: Read the thing. Sam: Pilgrim detectives. Toby: Do you see me laughing? Sam: I think you're laughing on the inside. Toby: Okay. Sam: With the big hats. Toby: Give me the speech. From Northern Exposure: "If winter is slumber and spring is birth, and summer is life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection. It's a time of year when the leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone. Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it's time to reflect on what's come before."