A moment to give my thanks, and hopes

Thanksgiving, as the name suggests, is a time when we are supposed to give thanks for all of the great things in our lives. I can distinctly remember this time in grade school. We would all gather and everyone would be required to name one thing they are thankful for. The room would inevitably be filled with repeated statements of thanks for family and friends, and maybe a new toy.

Sadly, I don’t think I’ve taken any significant amount of time around this holiday to think what I’m thankful for since those exercises when I was a little kid. So, what am I truly thankful for? It’s easy to say family and friends, but what else am I thankful for?

Well, I’m thankful I’m not a turkey. More than 46 million of them were consumed during Thanksgiving in 2007 -- that’s a lot of meat! I’m thankful I’m not the family dog circa Thanksgiving 2004, when he was caught nose-deep in the Turkey my dad put on the floor without thinking. We laugh about it now, but boy did he get it right afterwards. Although… he may have thought it was worth it! I’m thankful President Lincoln made the final day in November a national day of thanks giving, and Congress made it a national holiday in 1941. Thanks for laying the groundwork for my upcoming long weekend, Lincoln!

I’m thankful for the spread of food my mom will put out, and that I don’t have to eat what was on the menu at the original Thanksgiving back in 1621. Here’s what their taste buds were treated to, according to the History Channel’s website: cod, eel, clams, lobster, turkey, goose, duck, crane, swan, partridge, eagles, venison, seal, wheat flour, Indian corn, pumpkin, peas, beans, onion, lettuce, radishes, carrots, plums, grapes, walnuts, chestnuts, acorns, olive oil, liverwort, leeks, dried currants and parsnips.

A lot of that actually sounds pretty good, but a few things stuck out to me. Crane: I’ve never had crane, but there’s a blue heron that fishes in the water behind my house --perhaps it wants to join the spread. Eagle: can’t say I’ve ever had eagle, but the Baltimore Ravens had themselves a little pre-Thanksgiving Eagle last night! Seal: I’ll let the sharks have the seal, they are too fun to watch at the zoo to eat. And liverwort... what in the world is liverwort??

All jokes aside, there are a lot of people in the world who have little-to-nothing to be thankful for. And, a lot of people who are thankful for things we take for granted like fresh drinking water, food, medicine, shelter, clothing, etc… Like millions of others, I tuned in to “24 Redemption” last night to watch superhero, err, Special Agent Bauer foil the bad guys yet again. Beyond all the cheesy action and the whispering, then yelling, then whispering again of Bauer, there was a poignant message about the unthinkable struggles people in other countries face. It made me realize that I get down about some of the most ridiculous things sometimes. Compared to most of the world, I live a powder-puff life, and I need to stop and think about that when I’m upset because of something trivial.

So, I’m thankful for the incredible life I’ve been afforded, and hopeful that someday everyone will be given an equitable chance at a good life. Yes, I know, I’m the perpetual optimistic hoping for way too much, but you can’t stop me!