Home Growers Corner
The Four F ’ s of
The Holiday Season
Cannabis consumers in Missouri have something to be very thankful for . by Jay Richardson , contributing writer
we approach the end of another year , it provides us
As with a time for thought and reflection . November kicks off the holiday season with Thanksgiving , which acts as a sort of tailgate party for the other holidays . We indulge in an abundance of food and beverage mixed with camaraderie . Nothing is better than the four F ’ s : friends , family , food , and football .
This November marks my first anniversary as a freelance writer for The EVOLUTION Magazine , so no article with a Thanksgiving theme would be complete without giving a nod to our publisher , Bill Cromwell . I am thankful to Bill for giving me a chance and sticking with me . Journalism and publishing have a strict set of rules and guidelines , and I have almost a complete disregard for all of them . Bill hired a senior citizen / pothead and yet was somewhat surprised that I don ’ t know how to follow rules . Honestly , thanks Bill . I appreciate the help your team has given me . I would also like to thank the readers . I am also thankful you have followed my articles and hopefully like my growing tips and stories . I get nothing but positive feedback and love .
Cannabis consumers in Missouri have something for which to be very thankful . For the first time in over eight decades , we can celebrate with our favorite herb — legally ! The passage of Amendment 3 definitely calls for an extra slice of pumpkin pie . Not only is marijuana use and possession legal for every adult who is over twenty-one years of age but nonviolent cannabis convictions can now be expunged from an offender ’ s record . Happy Thanksgiving !
When I was a kid , I didn ’ t really grasp the true meaning of Thanksgiving . I didn ’ t mind missing school and getting extra football games to watch . Of course , loving the food was a given , but I didn ’ t care for much else . The fall and winter weather often tended to be bleak and gray , and we often traveled to visit faraway loved ones .
Crappy weather and a long family car trip didn ’ t seem like much of a holiday to a kid . Throw in being dressed in my nicest clothes , along with an order not to get said clothes dirty or torn , and you have the recipe for a miserable ten-year-old . When my cousins and I got together — dirty clothes were pretty much a given . The best our parents could hope for was that no one would need a trip to the emergency room . Spoiler alert : someone almost always needed stitches or a cast for a
36 November 2023
broken bone , which , of course , meant the emergency room . Playing football in the snow and mud while wearing slippery dress shoes can be dangerous . Of course , I ’ m just talking about the girl cousins .
I knew it was supposed to be a day to be thankful , but it was tied in with some abstract idea of Pilgrims and Native Americans . When you blend that with cranberry sauce , pumpkin pie , and a two-hundredmile car ride , the meaning of it all kind of got lost . Instead of teaching us to be thankful , grammar school taught us how to make a turkey by tracing our hands — they still do that ! I remember thinking that Thanksgiving was kind of a rip-off . It was a lot like Christmas , but you didn ’ t get any gifts wrapped in pretty paper . I could have tolerated the car trips and dirty clothes restrictions much better if I had gotten a new bike or a puppy out of the deal . Instead of being thankful for what I already had , I was wishing to have more .
Cooking Infused Turkey
This Smells
Yummy !
Although I still find myself doing this from time to time , I try to be conscious of it . I try to live in the present and appreciate and be thankful for my life , both past and present .
Let ’ s get back to the four F ’ s . Friends , family , food , and football have become synonymous with the Thanksgiving holiday in America . Of the four , I put friends first . Family has to love you , warts and all , but friends choose to love you . That is something very special and cool . I feel very fortunate to have a great many friends that I have known for decades . Unfortunately , most of them live in other states today , but through the wonders of modern technology , we can stay in touch and love to gossip like a bunch of old biddies . The magazine articles , along with my Facebook page
and YouTube channel , have been connecting me with a lot of friends I haven ’ t seen in a while . I am also being introduced to new people . That ’ s definitely something to be grateful for . Thank you for all the support .
Being thankful for family ( the second F ) sometimes gets lost . They tend to be taken for granted , and for me personally , sometimes I don ’ t realize how important they are until they are gone . Five years ago , we lost our parents . I sometimes forget and want to call them . Something will happen during a football game , and I wonder if my dad is as mad as I am . Of course , if he were here , he would be madder . Being a Denver Broncos fan can be frustrating . But seriously , it reminds me to cherish the family that I still have and to be thankful to have known and loved the ones that we have lost . It ’ s always sad to have empty seats at the dinner table .