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Thankful much?
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Thankful much?
  Editor’s note: Susan continues to enjoy her holiday, which this week will involve wrestling both a turkey and a toddler. We’re thinking of selling tickets. Meanwhile, this 2007 column pretty much says what needs to be said about Thanksgiving columns. This is a Thanksgiving column. By dint of timing, if nothing else. This time of year, columnists all over the country are writing Thanksgiving columns, whether they want to or not. Columns are what we do, and it’s Thanksgiving.  There’s no escaping a Thanksgiving column, and this is mine. I’ve set some ground rules. I will not revisit the holiday’s origins. Whether you like the “Squanto give corn” version, or the one where the Pilgrims gave thanks after slaughtering 700 Pequot - read someone else’s thoughts on the divergent histories. I’m not going there. I could fall back on humorous Thanksgiving-related stories but really, who hasn’t cooked the stupid giblets in the turkey at least once? Speaking of Thanksgiving humor, though, have you seen the commercial where the woman wrestles the huge turkey out of the sink and onto the floor and then, while attempting to get it back into the sink, accidentally hurls it through a window at her husband’s head? Every time I see that, I laugh out loud. It’s a knowing laugh. A sympathetic laugh. An “Oh yeah, I’ve been there” laugh. A “I’m so glad there’s no window by my sink” laugh.  Once you rule out Squanto, corn, Pilgrims and turkey foibles, what are you left with? That’s right, a column about thankfulness. How can you write anything new or meaningful about thankfulness? You can’t. We’re all thankful for pretty much the same things, aren’t we? Our families and friends - we’re thankful to have them, we’re thankful when they come to visit, and if we’re honest with ourselves, we’re thankful when they all leave.  Our health - some of us have more than others, but we can be thankful for as much of it as we have. Our wealth - do we ever have enough? Yes. Enough is what keeps a roof over your head, clothes on your back and food on your table. We can be thankful for enough, if we try. Those are the biggies - the thankfulnesses every columnist forced by the season to write a Thanksgiving column must mention. But we can be thankful about a load of other stuff. Everyday stuff we take for granted every day. This morning, on my morning walk, it occurred to me how lucky I am to be able to walk. It’s a thing I take for granted a million times a day, because I’ve always been able to. A lot of people can’t.  The moon’s been particularly pretty the last few days, setting early in the evening, looking particularly big and bright, even though it isn’t full, and shrouded by mist. We’re lucky to have such a moon. Let’s be thankful for that.  Have a nice Thanksgiving. Eat well, enjoy the company and the day off. Watch football, take a tryptophan-fueled nap. Go power-shopping Friday, if crowds and sales are your thing. Be thankful for all those things, and for all the small, pleasant things you take for granted each day. It takes practice. I’m working on being thankful for the ability to write a Thanksgiving column.  |
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