Thanksgiving, 2012

          Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 22, and rapidly approaching.  What is it we are thankful for?  At our house, we have a tradition of asking each person at the table to tell what they are thankful for.  Usually, the number one expression of thanks is for family and friends.  We are grateful to have people in life who share our moments of grief and happiness, losses and triumphs, sadness and joy.  We are thankful for those people who lend us support by listening to our problems, offering a word of advice or encouragement, doing things for us that no one else would either think of or do.  We are thankful that people care about us and help us, and, in turn, in gratitude we offer our care and help.  This, I believe, is the number one reason, on a personal level, for thanksgiving.

A Memorial Day Symbol

Memorial Day is a good time to spend a few moments remembering loved ones and the men and women who have served our country.

Got an interesting reminder of this today. Next to our piano are shelves that hold memorabilia and family collectibles. For instance, on one top shelf is an old kewpie doll in the shape of a Drum Majorette that I won at the Lake County, Indiana, Fair about fifty years ago. On one of the bottom shelves there's an old Kodak Box camera and a "modern" art deco clock that dates back to at least the 1930s. This afternoon when I walked in the house, my wife showed me where the shelf and all of its contents fell.

Miraculously, the Kodak seems none the worse for wear, and the clock, that hasn't kept time for twenty or more years, started ticking and is now showing the correct time! The old clock was in my boyhood home, and serves, now more than ever, as a reminder of those wonderful times and my loving parents.