The Plymouth Rock

The Plymouth Rock

It was only about a month ago that I was in Plymouth Massachusetts visiting with my sister and the rest of my family. The and her family live only a few miles from the rock and a sit called Plymouth Plantation is only about five miles away. Just before I left for my trip I was talking to one of my supervisors. His name was Leroy.

"I am going to Massachusetts for vacation."
"Where in the heck is Massachusetts?"
"People from all the world come to see something called the Plymouth Rock."
"Why would people all over the world want to see a rock?"

Well I could not convince Leroy of his need to go to Massachusetts to see the rock, but it has given me a lot of cause to do some of my own thinking as thanksgiving day draws near.

It was quite a long time ago that the Mayflower, the ship the Pilgrims sailed on went smash into a rock. That could have been the end of the story. Many a ship under similar circumstances was sunk and many of the people left for dead. For whatever reason, they survived. Many of us know the story. They came into Plymouth unprepared for a place that they had never been before. They had little food and the only people besides them were Indians and they had not read too many good things about them. All because of a rock.

Well the one of Indians happened to speak perfect English. The Indians helped the Pilgrims survive and thrive and eventually they had a meal together. Two unlikely peoples became friends all because of a rock.

Many of us bang into our own version of the Plymouth rock. It feels like the end and then as we hang on to see it through we realize it is only the beginning of seeing something that we could not have seen or participated in: Something called "Thanksgiving".