So I just got back from spending Thanksgiving in San Francisco. As of Wednesday morning, I did not know I would be there. Allow me to explain: It wasn't until I got into work and looked up a flight on a whim that I discovered flights back to SF for Thanksgiving were INSANELY reduced. How insane?
I flew back for $240 roundtrip (tax + fees included).
Yes, $240. Like I said - INSANE. The only explanation I can think of is that, at the point where people are looking up flights that take off within 24 hours, they obviously are indifferent as to whether they fly out or not...which puts the onus on the airlines to convince/incentivize these people to buy a ticket (provided the airlines have empty seats still available, of course).
Being back in SF was great, and Thanksgiving with the fam was actually a lot of fun. I got to catch up with a lot of my aunts, uncles, and cousins, most of whom I hadn't seen since Christmas of last year. We played some card games at my dad's side of the family (Apples to Apples and Bang!), and my aunt made a wicked apple pie. On my mom's side, all of us cousins picked names for Christmas gifts, but the twist is that we are stuck with a strict $5 limit (before tax and/or shipping, thankfully).
Honestly, it was all very American-flag-waving-homemade-apple-pie (as, in fact, there was courtesy of my aunt) traditional holiday, other than a few dishes of eggrolls, dumplings, Chinese broccoli, and sticky rice, that is. It's funny to me (not in a ha-ha way, but in a hrmmm - something to think about) to think that we are but a generation or two away from our immigrant F.O.B. generation.
How long does it take for a family to lose its cultural roots? And how ironic is it that it will likely be later generations who want to find them again?
