November 26/27, 2008

Just like my birthdays, Thanksgiving seems to come around a lot more often than it used to.
As always, there's much for me to be thankful for.... more than I can possibly list here.... so I'll mention just a few things that immediately come to mind.

First, of course, I'm thankful for the usual suspects....
My beautiful and resourceful wife Karen....
My four kids, Stephen, Jennifer, Darcy & McKensie....
My sons-in-law, Marcus & Darin....
My three grandkids, Felix, Elouise & Philip (the new one since last Thanksgiving)....
My wife's parents, Hilman and Mary Jo (the senior members of our clan)....
And all the other wonderful and unfailingly interesting relatives who occupy the various branches and categories in our sprawling family.

Oh, and I should mention McKensie's new puppy Pippo, who I'll be even more thankful for once he masters the art of conducting his "business" in the proper places, if you know what I mean.
For that reason he probably won't join the rest of us around the Thanksgiving table, at least not this year.

Let's see.... what else comes to mind?
Well, for one thing, the roof over our garage -- that I personally patched more than two years ago -- is still not leaking.
For that, I'm both surprised and thankful. If you've ever climbed on a roof and actually applied the gooey, messy patch-up stuff, you'll certainly understand.

I'm thankful that my old car is still running fine.... now in its 8th year.... and the only thing I've done is occasionally have the oil changed.
OK, so it's a little beat up, but it still gets me there.

I'm thankful that, just when I think country music has completely passed me by, I can still hear Emmylou Harris do something like "Blue Kentucky Girl"... or Merle Haggard's "That's the Way Love Goes"... or Cal Smith's "Country Bumpkin"... or Ernest Tubb's recording of "Waltz Across Texas"... or anything by Tom T. Hall, and have my faith in country music rejuvenated.

Thankfully, I've almost figured out how to work many, though not all, of the features on our HiDef television set. It's nice, but I still miss the old days of black and white analog, when it all seemed so simple and magical to me.

Both my wife and I are thankful that I finally cancelled my satellite radio service.
She's been patient and understanding, but weary, I'm sure, of hearing my never-ending complaints about it.

I'm thankful that Nashville still has the best, down-home "meat & three" restaurants in the world.... places like Swett's, Sylvan Park, Rotier's and Pie Wagon.
I don't know what I'd do without them.

I'm thankful for my friends, old and new.
I'm thankful for every one of you reading this.... I really am.

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