Happy Thanksgiving!

This morning Scruffy and I will be heading to Mobile to see my children for the holiday and celebrate G.'s 12th birthday; in case anyone is wondering, Mrs. M. will be with her family up in Topeka. All this is to say that good old Blog Meridian will go dark until next week.

I know how this next will sound to my older reader(s), but--amazingly--readership here really has jumped up to thin-air heights over the past few weeks: almost two whole visitors per hour now!! The fault is not in the stars but in themselves, it appears to me, but I'm grateful for their finding their way here and, good (but, just now, absent) host that I am, feel obligated to leave a note that shows them around a bit before they regain their senses and figure out a way to block this blog's URL from ever again being accessed by their browsers.

I encourage new visitors in search of blogs and other interesting sites on the 'Nets to peruse the links over in the gutter. Everyone over there is worth at least the time and e-patronage you've invested here--the vast majority of them are worth considerably more than that. For those who have read my posts on this page and, wonder of wonders, would like to read older things I've posted, have a look at the collections of links gathered below "Assemblages."

Finally, one thing in particular that no one--especially the intellectually-curious among you--should miss: New (to me) blogger Conrad Roth of Varieties of Unreligious Experience works much the same territory as my long-time online friend Raminagrobis, and works it just as intelligently. Roth's current post, The Garden of Forking Paths, isn't a meditation on Borges' wonderful story but, instead, on the letter "Y" and the various metaphysically-symbolic uses it's been drafted for since Greek times. You'll find the path that Roth traces for us forking in all sorts of fascinating and unexpected directions, and feel smarter when you finish--not to mention an enchantment not unlike that which the reader of Borges' story feels. Absolutely fascinating, and illustrated to boot.

Best wishes to all of you for a safe, restful, and happy thanks-filled holiday.