It is another Thanksgiving Holliday. Another opportunity to talk about how horrible white people treated the American Indians. Or just another opportunity to sit and have a meal with those same sorrowful faces that are called relatives and recap the horrible things that happened to them in the past year since last Thanksgiving. What is even worse is to be reminded that the father or brother who died is not there sitting in one of the chairs where they still belong. I say for once do something different for one Thanksgiving. You would still be giving thanks to yourself and also give yourself something too. Sounds selfish but so what, who cares.

Get rid of the tradition of eating turkey for once too. Go all the way and eat SPAM in a place where everyone eats the stuff. Yes, maybe I am crazy but in Hawaii, SPAM is king. Let’s go to Hawaii for Thanksgiving. Book it late when everything is cheaper in price but not cheap in quality. Go to a grocery store in the islands and you will find 14 varieties of the canned meat on the shelves. In fact no other state eats more of the meat in a can than native Hawaiians do.  It is a staple there. There is SPAM with cheese, garlic, turkey, peppers and also SPAM with Macadamia nuts. The taste of SPAM is so popular in Hawaii you can even order it at McDonald's.

It all started in World War II   when millions of pounds were shipped to the GI Soldiers stationed in the Hawaiian Islands mainly because for some reason it didn’t spoil in the tropical sun. When the war was over and the soldiers left, the SPAM stayed. It then became part of the island diet. They even make a kind of sushi roll with SPAM and rice rolled tightly.  SPAM can be found in the touristy restaurants too like Tikilniki  where you can order a SPAM hamburger.  Ok by now I am sure you are craving your turkey staring at those relatives of yours but at least consider Hawaii and the Hawaiians favorite cuisine as an alternative to other traditions.

Many feel that SPAM is healthier than you average hot dog. There are no animal snouts or anuses in it. SPAM is made by Hormel Foods and is made of pork shoulder and salt and not much else. It is cooked in it’s own can and about 400 cans per minute are made every day. Since it’s invention in 1937, Hormel has sold 8 Billion cans. The worst thing about SPAM is when the word was officially entered into the dictionary as being unwanted e-mails.

All I can say is that SPAM has helped armies, and helped people survive through recessions when the only thing you can afford for dinner is a can of fried SPAM . The stuff has endured as a true slice of Americana. So, this Thanksgiving when I am surrounded by family and friends enjoying a juicy turkey giving thanks for my life as it is, I might also be wondering what Hawaii might be like now.  Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, mu faithful friends who bother to read my rants.