Tina Mitchell Wilkins
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Go-Aheads

11/29/2021

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I bought some very impractical slippers a few months back. I thought they would be great for recovery after the long days on the Portuguese Camino. They have some kind of fur in them and 2 straps that criss cross at the front of the foot. They are grey and about a half an inch in height. They felt super comfortable when I walked around DSW in them. They are not sexy. Not by any stretch. But like I said, I thought they would be great to rest my feet in after the long walks.

I ended up not taking them on the trip, because I ran out of room in my suitcase. Then, when we returned to Austin, it was summer for another two months. Too warm to wear fuzzy slippers.  Finally, the weather dropped below 80, so I pulled them out of the closet. Well,  my recovery slippers make me look clunky & caused me to trip...like... a lot. Not only are they NOT comfortable, but they are pretty hideous. They are a little too (with all do respect) guy-like and they are not very practical to wear. BUT, they have a furry lining, so maybe I will give them another try tomorrow.   

Truthfully, they remind me of the sandals my dad would wear after he would come back from a run. He would shower, put on his finest terrycloth shirt and 1 of 2 pair of shorts he owned, pour a nice bourbon and walk around in his “go-aheads”. You can’t walk backwards in your go-aheads...that’s why he called them, well, go-aheads. Try it sometime. Especially the kind of slippers/sandals that have the criss cross type of strap.

My dad was a go-ahead kind of guy. He was positive by nature, always uplifting to my brothers, our mom and me. He simply was a solid, lovely human. I often wonder what he would be like now. He left this earth early from pancreatic cancer in 1994. Even when he was wasting away, he would put on his go-aheads and slowly walk around the house. Always moving forward, never feeling sorry for himself. We all cried in the hospital when the doctor told us that he was terminally ill. He said, “I can’t believe I am leaving you."  Not poor me. Not bitter. Not angry. Deeply sad of course, but not for himself. He only lasted 3 months after the diagnosis.
​

So maybe I’ll keep these dang go-aheads. I’ll trip in them, yes, but I’ll keep moving forward, forever onward and clumsily upward.
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A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

11/23/2021

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I love Peanuts. I was born the year A Charlie Brown Christmas was released. I adore the Charlie Brown specials. Well, I adore the old school ones. The newish ones with the different character voices and the more updated cartoons, I really do not relate to as much. There are a few sequels to the trifecta of Charlie Browndom, but they miss the mark, I believe. I hold A Charlie Brown Christmas, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving close to my heart. I will a l w a y s sit down and watch them when they are on.

I kind of cheated tonight when I saw that the program was off
ered on Apple TV. Usually I wait until it shows on one of the big networks, with the myriad of commercials and all. Wine breaks, as I like to call them. I was missing the sweetness of Ted Lasso and the wackiness of Mrs. Maisel, so I was flipping though the channels, looking for something that would bring me lightness and joy. There it was.. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.  So I pressed "Watch".

It all starts with Charlie Brown being coerced into kicking that blessed football. You think by now Charlie B would know that Lucy is, well... a big liar. She never apologizes and continues to manipulate him. She clearly is a narcissist, but he is like 7 years old and takes the bait. She pulls the ball and he flies through the air (quiet impressively, really) and lands flat on his back. She then says something pithy, takes the ball and walks off
... making him feel like it is completely his fault. Lucy is a gaslighter too, apparently. It’s a wonder that she and Linus are related.

​Oops...sorry, y’all... I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts lately. Can’t even watch a simple 1973 cartoon without my own Super Soul Sunday narration. But.. don’t you find it crazy that Marcie calls Peppermint Patty “Sir” and she never corrects her?! I do dig Peppermint Patty’s Birkenstocks though. I also find it interesting that she invites herself over for Thanksgiving dinner... and then invites 2 more friends...then complains about the meal. 1973 was very forgiving to kids who have no supervision and zero manners. The coolest of the cool is Snoopy, who eff
ortlessly prepares a last minute meal with color, originality and flair. He is also completely confident that everyone will be thrilled with his presentation. We have a beautiful table in the backyard, with Chip & Joanna mis-matched chairs, fine china and a lovely white table cloth. I think he and Woodstock had approximately 15 minutes to do everything, including butter the toast. It is a kid’s dream feast and Peppermint Patty complains about not having any gravy & potatoes.

Well of course after Peppermint Patty complains, Charlie Brown feels like a failure again. He feels bad for not only being bulldozed into hosting a 7 year old’s view of Thanksgiving, but he also feels like he failed his mission to create anything that actually works out in life. We know people like this, right? Thanks to Linus, who always has the right thing to say, the evening is not a complete loss. He has depth beyond his years. I think he is 6. Dude man has a blanket, but he has a head and a heart full of great wisdom too.

The day is also saved by the mumbling grandma on the telephone, who invites the whole tribe of misfits to her house for a “real” Thanksgiving dinner. They all pile into the back of the station wagon (no seatbelts) and sing their way to her condo. It’s a brilliant story with only a little bit of violence, only a tiny bit of flirtation and a whole lotta hope.

The underdog wins. It’s a subtle win, but alas, a win. Snoopy and his faithful partner, Woodstock, end up having a fabulous feast of real turkey and some kind of colorful baubles that are placed artfully on the silver platter. Even at 8 years old, I wondered what it must have felt like for Woodstock to eat turkey. Still do. Oh well, I must suspend my curiosity and just let it be what it is.

Why do we watch Charlie Brown every year? Because we believe. We believe in good. We believe in kindness. We believe that ultimately love prevails. We believe that Vince Guaraldi was born to accompany those iconic cartoons & scenes and we believe that despite being served jellybeans, the deliciousness is in the company and not what is on the table.

Happy Thanksgiving. kids. Call me if you would like to invite yourself over. Bring 2 friends.





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    TMW
    Observing things and hopefully writing about them. 

    The War of Art is my go=to book.  If you are a creator of things.. I recommend it highly. 

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