"What are you thankful for?"

"I am thankful for the randomness of New York City that has allowed me to be sitting at this table with you tonight. Truly thankful."

For reasons beyond my control, I've been unable to return home to Texas for the past 9 years to be with my family for Thanksgiving. Each year, I've found myself sitting at a table sharing a meal with whoever I'm lucky enough to know at the time. Many memories, some lonelier than others, but each marks the path my life has taken thus far and I look back on them with nothing but smiles.

This year I found myself in a little neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY... Bushwick! Certainly a unique Thanksgiving, but memorable in so many ways! My dear friend, Brooke, and I had to work that morning (where we served maybe 15 people). So she invited me to be a part of her Thanksgiving, saving me from potentially dining solo... well maybe not. Anyway, we ran all over Tribeca to pick up our holiday meal, which included chicken not turkey, then barely got to the wine shop before they closed their doors, and finally found just the right sweet potato casserole from Boston Market, before we headed out to Brooklyn.

So great to be in a home for this holiday. Don't get me wrong, I love my empty, closet-size apartment but in a space where two people have lived for years, you can find their personalities imprinted in subtle ways around the house. These two women have not only placed their mark in their home, but in the homes around them by reaching out and investing in the lives of their neighbors. New York can easily be a place where you come and go without saying two words to the neighbor you share a wall with, but I was touched and honestly inspired by the community they've created in "the hood", as they call it.

Now, as the food cooked we munched on the normal Thanksgiving appetizers: cheese plate accompanied by cheddar and bacon stuffed jalapenos! Did I mention I was having Thanksgiving with a couple Southern women?! Who eats that on Thanksgiving?! The hottest things ever!!! Went so well with the wine we were drinking!

Anyways, After the Cowboys secured a victory, we sat for our meal. And we didn't get up from that table for hours! We ate, we laughed, we drank wine, we shared stories, and had the most delicious sweet potato pie ever! I will never forget those faces around that table and my night in Bushwick.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~My Thanksgiving Family!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Help Me, Obi-Wan Kenobi..."

You know the rest. The final phrase uttered by a gifted writer, performer, and self-deprecating narcissist: Carrie Fisher. I was a volunteer usher for the Roundabout Theatre Production of Wishful Drinking, which means that I got to see the show for free!

I found the evening educational, as well as entertaining. I grew up knowing Carrie Fisher only as Princess Leia. I had no idea she was the daughter of Debbie Reynolds, much less all the tabloid scandal. I'm revealing my ignorance, but personally I think it enhanced the evening. Especially when she pulled down a giant blackboard with all the Hollywood marriages that are linked together in her world.

A very comfortable set looking much like a living room, Carrie Fisher chatted with the audience about the craziness of her life. But she did it in a way that refused pity and made you feel like maybe this is part of her therapy and she has somehow lived through all this. A tiny moment near the very end of the piece I feel she briefly dropped her guard when she said, "if I am very still and very quiet, I think I can hear the angels sing."

Laughter is the best medicine, especially when it comes to your own pain. Carrie Fisher has managed to take a life of extraordinary circumstances and experiences, cram it into a 2 hour show and allow everyone to leave feeling like they know the real Princess Leia. And I think everyone, including myself, really loved the final shout-out to...well... herself.

"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope."