Learning what it means to really be thankful

This is the time of year when, back in grade school, teachers always used to give us the “write about what you’re thankful for” assignment.

I always dutifully completed the assignment, naming things like family, friends and teachers. I was thankful for all those things of course — and still am — yet when I was in elementary school, I don’t think I was old enough to truly understand what it meant to really be thankful for something.

That’s a wisdom that I have only begun to achieve in the past few years. Being thankful is about more than simply acknowledging the folks who have helped you out from time to time. It’s about a feeling of deep appreciation in your heart, the knowledge that your own little corner of the world is a better place because of someone or something else.

So I thought I’d take a few minutes to today to mention some of the things I am thankful for this Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for my clothes dryer. Just a few days ago, thanks to a faulty heating element, I learned what it was like to go several days without being able to dry clothes. I promise to never take it for granted again.

I am thankful for my DVR, for reruns on the Bravo cable channel, and for the creative genius behind for “The West Wing.” There’s nothing on TV today that matches that show.

I am thankful for the crowds at shopping centers this time a year. OK, so maybe I’m not a huge fan of the holiday mobs, but it sure is reassuring to see that even in the face of the “greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression,” life still seems to go on in some parts of the country.

I am thankful for Zaxby’s. I’m usually a little reluctant to give too many plugs to individual businesses in this space, but Zaxby’s is too good to not mention. I’m thankful they’re in Blytheville, and I hope they never leave.

I am thankful that I could buy gasoline for only $1.49 a gallon, about 30 miles from Blytheville Sunday afternoon. That’s a savings of roughly 37 cents a gallon compared to what the local fuel cartel was charging at the same time.

I am thankful for my Christmas tree, which we put up Saturday afternoon. A little early, for sure; but seeing as how we begin our Christmas celebrations at Thanksgiving, we have to do something to get ourselves into the spirit. I’m thankful that so many loved ones who have left us are represented on our tree. I like to think their spirits are with us during these festive times.

I am thankful for my readers, especially those who make a point from time to time to let me know they appreciated something I wrote. Writers have a need to know they're being read.

I am thankful for my parents, who I can always count on for guidance and companionship, whether it’s a trip to a historic site or a decision on what kind of life insurance to buy.

I am thankful for my in-laws, who welcomed me into their family nearly 12 years ago, and have been a crucial part of our family’s support structure ever since, providing services from lawn-mower repair to baking the world’s best cinnamon rolls.

I am thankful for my son, who at 6 years of age has a zeal for life that I will forever be envious of.

I am thankful for my daughter, who at age 9, manages to carry herself with a grace and dignity that I can only hope to emulate in my wildest dreams.

I am thankful for my wife, who is the most supportive and caring spouse a guy could hope for. I’m am thankful that I was lucky enough to have married my best friend.

These are the thoughts that I am filled with as we approach this Thanksgiving holiday. Like anyone else, there are challenges in my life; but at the end of the day, ultimately, I consider myself a very lucky person.

May each of us have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, filled with life's blessings.

Just how historic was the election?

The running count on the number of times this month’s presidential election has been referred to as “historic” now stands at 1,658,825,127.

All the well, though. It was historic.

But how historic was it, really? It will be years before we can really tell for sure. I’m of the mind set that at least 30 years or so have to pass before we can really get a sense of how an event will play out in the annals of history. For instance, though some people are ready to add his visage to Mount Rushmore, I think it’s still too early to begin to evaluate what the history books will say about Ronald Reagan. The same goes for George Bush (the elder), as well as Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. And we're just beginning to get a real sense of how people like Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon figure in the tale of America.

So obviously, we have a long way to go before we can even start to guess about what the history books will say about Barack Obama.

That said, we do know that he will forever be the first African-American elected president of the United States, and there’s no doubt that’s noteworthy. In fact, the night of Nov. 4, I let my kids stay up late to watch some of the election results come it, for the sole purpose of giving them a memory of that historic night. I want them to be able to tell their grandchildren about how they remember the first time a black person was elected president of the United States.

My older sister has a similar memory. Though she was only about 3 1/2 at the time, she remembers being forced to watch television the night Richard Nixon became the first — and only — president to resign from office. Our father — a U.S. history teacher — was keenly aware of the historic significance of the event, and he wanted her to be able to remember the night it happened.

That’s what happens when you grow up in the household of a U.S. history teacher … you learn to appreciate history as it happens.

That’s probably why I’ve often contemplated the events of my own lifetime and wondered which will be the ones that end up in prominent places in the history books. I was technically alive at the time of Nixon’s resignation, and at the end of the Vietnam War, though I was too young to remember either. For a long time, I counted the fall of communism — perhaps best encapsulated by the dismantling of the Berlin Wall — to be the most significant historic event that I had witnessed.

Other events which stand out are things like the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the Columbine massacre.

Of course, then Sept. 11 happened, and there was no longer much debate about the single-most historic day of my lifetime. I think we all remember how we spent that morning, and we’re all preparing stories of that one for our grandchildren.

And now, we have the election of Barack Obama, to add to the mix. In evaluating the historic events of the last 36 years or so, the 2008 presidential election will surely have a place. After all, in a nation that has been largely defined by race relations since its inception, the rise of our first black president is without a doubt something that will be long remembered.

But I’ll hold back from saying just how historic it has been for a few years. I’d say somewhere around 2038 or so, we’ll be able to accurately begin to weigh Obama’s place in American history.

Until then, I can only say I’m proud to be able to say I’ve witnessed it.

Many questions; not too many answers

I'm stealing an all-question column format from BHS Arrow editor Xavier Billingsley this week.

Do you think he will mind?

Is imitation really the sincerest form of flattery?

How long will it be before all the political yard signs are finally taken down?

Does anyone else find it interesting that the signs for those who lost elections — both locally and nationally — seem to be the ones being left up the longest?

Has anyone heard a rational explanation for why Blytheville's gas prices are at least 30 cents higher than anywhere else?

Do gas station owners realize how much money our community is losing as motorists travel elsewhere, not only to buy gas, but to eat supper, buy groceries, and do shopping?

When it comes to gas prices, is Blytheville earning the moniker, "Rip-Off City"?

Have you heard Pink's new hit, "So What"?

Is it possible for the area pop radio stations to go longer than 20 minutes without playing "So What"?

For that matter, can they go 15 minutes without playing “Time of My Life” by David Cook?

Now that the elections are over, will people finally stop acting crazy?

Can I expect to finally stop getting phone calls and e-mails that randomly accuse me of being unabashedly liberal, or unabashedly conservative, or a racist, or a (offensive term for the opposite of a racist which I won't repeat here)?

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

If I put up my Christmas tree soon, will you laugh at me?

Does anyone know where I can find some black-and-gold tinsel for my Iowa Hawkeye-themed Christmas tree?

Have we heard the last of Sarah Palin?

Will Palin fare better than other losing VP picks, like John Edwards, Joe Lieberman, Jack Kemp, Dan Quayle, Lloyd Benton and Geraldine Ferraro?

Isn't it nice to see how classy President Bush — and other administration officials — have been in regard to President-elect Obama?

Do you feel sorry for those who were so bitterly opposed to an Obama presidency that they were unable to appreciate the historic milestone that last week's election represented?

Did the community do enough to celebrate Veterans Day this year?

Does the existence of so many holidays throughout the year, all honoring those who have served our country — including Veterans Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day (not to mention other frequently celebrated days, like D-Day, Pearl Harbor Day and Sept. 11) dilute the tributes paid to those who have served our country?

Can you imagine a world without the Internet? Or e-mail? Or YouTube? Or Facebook? Or Wikipedia? Or Google?

Have you bookmarked Snopes.com?

Do Internet message boards, which allow users to say whatever they want to, under the cloak of complete anonymity, really promote the cause of free speech?

Does it further the cause of free speech to give a megaphone to a moron?

Is anybody else just about ready for basketball season to begin in earnest?

Will the Memphis Grizzlies ever capture the devotion of area basketball fans, especially as long as the Memphis Tigers are around?

Am I making any sense at all?

Gearing up for the Christmas countdown

I walked into the local Wal-Mart Supercenter over the weekend, and it really came as no surprise that Christmas music was blaring over the loudspeakers.

Yes, it had only been a few hours since the last of the trick-or-treaters had wandered off into the night; and yes, it seems odd to be humming "Silent Night" when it's in the mid-70s outside. But if you think this is going to be one of those "Christmas comes too early" rants, you're in for a disappointment.

The fact is, this is simply the way it is. The day the pumpkins and witches come down, the Christmas trees and Santa Clauses go up. (Or, in the case of Lowe's, the Christmas trees were up a month ago.)

The nice thing about it is you really don't need a calendar anymore — you can always tell what time of year it is by looking at the seasonal aisle at Wal-Mart. Christmas gives way to Valentine's, which segues to Easter, then to "summer picnic" season, followed by back-to-school items, then Halloween, and finally back to Christmas.

So the appearance of stockings and mistletoe and reindeer and ornamental snowflakes really doesn't bother me. But what does alarm me is that it's a reminder of how far behind I am in my preparations for the holidays.

For those keeping score at home, we are currently 50 days out from Christmas, which isn't too bad. But the problem for me is that with various relatives in different places (and on different schedules), we end up celebrating early with several different factions of the family. In fact, we traditionally do one of our Christmas celebrations during Thanksgiving weekend, which is (gulp) only 22 days away.

And we've done zero preparations. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

We do have one thing going for us, which is that we've more or less agreed to scale things back a bit this year. For the last several years, it's seemed the holidays have been getting a little out of control. A few too many gifts. A few too many toys. A bit too much energy directed toward stuff that, in the grand scheme of things, just isn't that important, especially once December fades away.

Then the whole financial meltdown thing came along, and it just seemed like a good time to tone down the whole Christmas thing. We'll buy fewer gifts; and we'll receive fewer gifts. And in the process, we think our enjoyment of the holiday will increase.

Nonetheless, it's time to get going on getting ready. We need to make our lists, and check them twice. We need to figure out when we're going to pull out the tree and hang up the stockings. We need to schedule our trips to the various families we'll celebrate with, here in Arkansas, as well as in Missouri and Iowa.

I think the election has been the big stumbling block for anyone thinking about getting a head start on the holidays. For the last several months, the campaign has dominated our nation's consciousness. Luckily, it's over now. And it's time to put the debates and arguments behind us, come together as a country and return to some normalcy.

And really, the holidays are the perfect way to do it. After all, Christmas time is about people coming together, and sharing the things which unite us. It's a season of hope, of joy and of peace.

So I don't care if Wal-Mart is playing "White Christmas" and peddling tinsel and wrapping paper. It's not too early. If you ask me, Christmas can't get here soon enough.

Obama reads this blog

Check out this excerpt from last week's edition of The Talker:

We’re not the "Red States of America" or the "Blue States of America;" we are the "United States of America."

Now check out this excerpt from Barak Obama's acceptance speech Tuesday night:

We have never been a collection of red states and blue states: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

I guess we know where Obama's getting his material.