The Turkey Trot and the Power of Secular Ritual

on secular ritual, revision, communal activities, and giving thanks

Two years ago I spent my annual Saturday-after-Thanksgiving layover alone at the nicest restaurant I could find in the Las Vegas airport, eating a barely passable piece of salmon and texting with Ben, with whom I would go on my first real date back in Los Angeles the following day. I was on my way home from my aunt’s house in DuPage County, Illinois, wh…