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 The dictionary defines the word Thanksgiving as follows: “The act of giving thanks, an expression of
thanks especially to God. A public celebration in acknowledgement for giving thanks to God.” I think this
definition is fairly easy to understand don’t you? It’s our day to take time out to give thanks for all that we
have and for all of the things we should be grateful. I probably have told you this before, but here again I’ll
repeat myself. I like this holiday. I think it’s the greatest one that we have. No forced buying, no cards to
send, no major decorations…just a time for our family and friends. In this fast paced world that we live in,
it’s seldom we get a day off to just have the time to contemplate all that we have in this great country of
ours, isn’t it? Now, you know that I poke fun and criticize the government form time to time. But, hey,
that’s one of the things about where we live. You and I can do this and not have to fear
some goons knocking on our door and hauling us off to the dungeons. Every day that passes we should be thankful for
this freedom. It isn’t shared by all on this planet in these times. There are still many countries today that
don’t allow people to speak or write about the things they disagree about. What about our general public
safety? Yes, we have crime. Yes, we have violence. But, all things considered, most of us can walk about
each and every day and not think about someone cutting our throats or whatever during the day or night. As
bad as our crime situation is at this time, the statistics do show a decrease in overall crime rates over the
past 20 or so years. We need to be thankful for this reduction in misery. Let’s talk about poverty. Jobs are
at an all time high in this country. You can’t drive 500 feet without seeing a sign asking for help. Sure,
these may be menial jobs for a lot of folks, but let’s be real, there is work out there. For those of you that
lived during the depression, would you have taken a job slinging hamburgers or sacking groceries in 1929
or so? I’ll bet you would, you’d do anything just to survive. We have food, we have jobs and we also have
compassion. Overall charity giving in this country is up compared to 10 years ago. We have a long way to
go to make everyone comfortable and happy, but we have made a start and for that we should be thankful.
There is no need for any adult or child to go hungry in this day and time. There are plenty of places
that welcome those in need with open arms. In 1900, if you were homeless and hungry, who would help or
where would you go? Granted there are those among us that don’t choose to avail themselves of this
assistance, but that’s their choice. The help is there nonetheless. What about education? We have more kids
going to school than ever. We have more kids in college than any other time in history. We have more kids
graduating than any other time as well. While, we’re here let’s talk about kids for a moment. While the
papers and television are filled with the latest violence performed by some kid or group of kids. No one
talks about the millions and millions who are studying and who are passing quietly from one grade to
another. No one mentions the fact that most of these young men and women are getting out of school,
finding jobs and becoming a positive to our society. We should all be thankful for these and we should tell
them we are proud of them as well. What about our senior adults? In America today, senior adults are
beginning to be utilized in more and more places than ever before. Their wisdom helps us. Their history
teaches us. Their tenacity inspires us. Americans are living longer and helping our more than ever before.
We can use all of the help we can get and this is a resource for which we can say thanks. Last, but not least
are our veterans. I’d like to think that somehow, someday, we could combine Veterans Day with
Thanksgiving for us to celebrate and honor those who lived, fought and died to make our freedom real and
alive. No matter what age or political persuasion we are, we always need to bear in mind that our right to sit
at that table next Thursday and even talk about politics were granted to us by the shedding of the blood of
many, many men and women of this country at different times in our Nations history. As someone once
said…”I may not like what you say, but I’ll defend to my death your right to say it.” Many of our fellow
Americans have defended to their deaths our right to sit in our homes, relax and eat in peace. I ask that you
stop what you are doing for just a moment on Thursday and just share with all those present the things that
we have and not the things we don’t have. We are indeed blessed. We should be grateful for these
blessings. We certainly should take a moment out of our lives and give thanks. Thank God you are alive
and able to read this. Take time out to say thanks to your own family and friends. Especially your friends.
They choose to be around you and me. Relatives can’t always do so. Have a good day. I now have an easy
way to e-mail at www.pearyperry.com. I got several notes about not being able to find the e-mail button.
It’s there, so drop me a note if you feel so inclined. If you don’t have a computer or e-mail, well that’s life.
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