Time to Give Thanks

With Thanksgiving coming up I have decided to do something a little more positive with my Wednesday column. I decided to do something we should be doing every day and that is giving thanks.

You don’t have to believe in any one certain diety to believe that you should be thankful. It’s just an appreciation for the things in your life that have meaning and are important.

I give thanks for my family. Without the connection to family, the chances of drifting off into some abyss increase daily so it’s important to remember everything starts with family. The simplest words also can be very complex as well as each of us has familial relationships that are unique.

I give thanks to America. This great experiment across the sea has turned out to be the most imperfect, perfect place in human history. No matter the course we end up on, the road is still better here. Can we do better? Of course we can. The amazing thing about the United States is that the direction we go will always be one we chose, not from someone in some far away land. I never forget to give thanks for living here and I never will.

I give thanks to all the people that make living in this country trying to keep us safe and healthy. The first responders, the health care people, our military and yes, uh, our government.

I give thanks to the Left. Without them and their destructive ideas, I don’t think we truly realize how great Democracy is. The more they open their mouths and say things to destroy the fabric of this country, the stronger the opposition is. Keep up the good work.

With that in mind, I give thanks for the media in this country that exposes their prejudices almost daily. While we love a free press in this country, I think most people see bias and only believe a portion of what they hear. This is not a left or right thing, it is a media thing. If ever there were a place were the news was actually reported, fairly, with no bias, I would give thanks to them first.

I give thanks to all of the streaming services and how they rose to the occasion while we were in the depths of the pandemic. Without them, it would have been an endless parade of competition shows and reality TV. Network and local TV completely dropped the ball on an opportunity to win back viewers and start the next great wave of Network Television. Instead, adventurous streaming channels created genres and sub-genres and had us hooked. I now know more about serial killers than anyone on my block. Every time I start a new series of Narcos, I say a silent thank you to the execs that pushed for this series. In a million years I can’t imagine anyone binge watching anything that mainstream networks put out yet, you give me an Ozark and I am gone for five or six hours.

Not surprisingly, I give thanks to Rock and Roll. I know that seems kind of stupid but not a day goes by where I am not listening to something on my IPhone or Sirius XM radio. The enjoyment I get from listening to music is worthy of praise and thanks and I know it’s a simple thing but sometimes the simplest pleasures are the best.

So, as we sit down and break bread with friends and family, we give thanks, we should think about giving thanks everyday. I used to keep a gratitude journal. Each morning I would get up and write what I was grateful for. Be it health, friendships, your pets, whatever. It really was a great way to start the day and to this day, I may not write it down in a journal, I still remember to be thankful for what is important to me.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!