Thanksgiving is still a week away, and I’m already looking forward to ignoring my diet. It occurs to me that this year has been an unusual one in many ways and that Thanksgiving is here just in time to help us all keep everything in perspective.Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday … by far. But it’s not just the food or the unspoken license to eat until you collapse on living room furniture. I like Thanksgiving because I think of it as a unifying event — a reason, or maybe just an excuse — to put aside our innumerable differences and give thanks for what we have as a nation.