Thanksgiving in the New Era

 Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

In the past, I have blogged a list of 31 things I am thankful for, revising it each year for any changes.

That's very tough to do this year.

It's not that I don't have plenty to be grateful for. I am thankful for my family, my friends, our health, our pets, my church, and many of my church family.

I am thankful that my son, Benjamin, and our friend, Anita Lynn, will be with us for Thanksgiving.

There are many personal things that I am thankful for.

But it is difficult to be completely thankful when the nation that I love so much has had its happiness and future snatched away from us.

It's difficult to live in a county where 89% of the voters chose the orange fascist.

I won't go into all the many ways that this unfortunate decision will affect us in the US and around the globe. I'll have plenty of other posts about that.

I wish I could be like so many who have decided to cut these poisonous people from their lives. I'm doing it to the extent that I can. But it's not easy when the view that thinks this is okay is dominant here. That this was just another election, and why can't we all be friends.

As many have clarified, it's not a difference in politics; it's a base difference in morality. And that is hard to get around.

I'm doing the best I can. Thankfully, I no longer have to work in an environment filled with his supporters.  

Tomorrow, I have to go into the Lion's Den and have a Thanksgiving meal with relatives who support him. If I was a stronger person, I would refuse to go there. But I can't do that. It's not in me. But I  will do my best to minimize interaction beyond what is needed to be polite.

Some who read this blog may wonder when it will turn to a broader range of topics—family, nostalgia, movies/TV/books/theatre, etc.

Maybe that will come in time.

But right now, there is too much anger and fear and rage.  

I can't let it go. To do so would be to surrender to fascism and to accede to the immorality of the narcissist in chief.

If that bothers you, then cut me off. Because it's not going to stop.

I can't let it go.

As dark as times are, I refuse to stop lighting up what I can.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all, including the Trumpeteers. I despise what you did and will never understand or forget it. But on a personal level, I wish nothing but the best for you and your family and friends. 

United States of America

1776 - 2025

A noble experiment has come to an end.

Someday, God willing, it will be returned to us.

But for now.

It is gone.

31 Minutes of Thankfulness 2021 Edition

 

31 Minutes of Thankfulness 2021 Edison

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I hope everyone gets to celebrate with family and friends!

I have about 31 minutes before I start on other Thanksgiving prep.  I'll take advantage of this brief gap to update my new edition of thankfulness.

Today we will have our Thanksgiving brunch with Alison's father, his wife, Alison's stepsister, and young son, Graham. Later today, we will have a Thanksgiving meal with Alison's mom and Anita Lynn. How in the world I will eat that much food in one day is a mystery only solved by plenty of antiacid and heartburn tablets. 

So that's how much time I have to do my version of the 31 days of Thankfulness I see so many of my friends doing on the Facebook machine.

So here goes!

1)  I am thankful for Alison and Benjamin.  We have a beautiful family, and it is so comforting to be loved and supported.  Benjamin has started his third year at college!  He attends Georga College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.  He is going gangbusters in college, even better than I anticipated. Like all of our college students, he is doing the best he can to cope with the Pandemic and has faithfully followed all protocols to keep himself and others safe.  He has switched from Psychology to Computer Science as a major and is taking it to it amazingly well. Alison is beautiful and patient, practical, and loving.  She has been outstanding at her workplace, focused on helping to provide nutritional meals to students, whether they are attending school or are homebound during the Pandemic.  She has helped Benjamin immensely in dealing with university bureaucracy and keeping Benjamin on track in school work and college admissions.  She has taken up the hobby of crocheting and has completed several projects.  She is getting better and better and learning at an incredible pace.

2) I am thankful for my two older boys, Douglas and Gregory.  Douglas is an environmental scientist in Atlanta.  Gregory is living the family dream, working in Hollywood in the movie industry.  He has recently been the editorial colorist on the TV show For All Mankind and has done some amazing work on Kevin Can F**k Himself.  I couldn't be prouder of both of them.  I am grateful that Doug has a beautiful wife, Paige, and both have moved to the Catskills of New York.  Doug has a great job with the state Environmental agency, and there is more news that I am very excited about, but I'm not fully ready to share yet.  Stay tuned! I am grateful that my older boys have taken so much to Benjamin and have been great mentors and friends to him.

3) I am thankful for my loving parents.  My mother, who passed in October 2008, taught me the power of unconditional love.  My father, who passed in September 2013, taught me more about responsibility and hard work, and about the true meaning of Christianity, than anyone else I've ever known.  I think of them often and miss them terribly.  I am grateful for the love and memories they have given me.

4) I am thankful I have a loving, caring sister.  Carol and her family have always been supportive and kind to me.  She did so much for my father; I am so grateful.  I am excited that she is now a Grandmother with four (count 'em - four!) grandchildren.   Carol and Mike live in the Grand Rapids area and live closer to her daughter and granddaughters, Bailey and Morgan.  And now her son and daughter-in-law, and two grandsons, Elijah and Evan, also live in the Grand Rapids area! 

5) l am thankful for my church family.  Grace Episcopal has been essential in our family's spiritual and social life, and I appreciate the connections we have made and all the support and Christian fellowship they have given us.  No church in the area has done more to stay safe and start services up in a protective and caring manner as Grace has.  I am thankful for everything that Rev. Kit Brinson has brought to our church, and it has been a joy to watch it grow, diversify, and become the hands and feet of Christ in our local community.  

6) I am thankful that I now retired from accounting!  I am thankful to those I worked with, and I wish them the best. But my employers and co-workers have made it to be as pleasant an experience as it can be.  I am not sure of all I will do, but I am happy to have the time to figure it out and pursue those things of most interest to me. . I will continue to add to my blog, The Strait Line.   I have finished but not marketed The Extra Credit Club and am working on the second of the History of the Trap series.  Currently, I am preparing my comic books for a bulk sale.  

7) I am thankful that I can act, at least well enough to participate in community theatre.  Getting on stage and feeling the audience's response has been one of the great pleasures of my life. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, my re-introduction to the stage has been slow, but I was able to play Thurston Howell in Gilligan's Island: The Musical.  I acted! I sang! I danced (sort of)!

8) I am thankful for the theatre groups in our area and everything they do to contribute to the area's arts.

9) I am thankful for the Okefenokee Heritage Center. I appreciate their support of artists in our area, particularly writers.

10) I am thankful that I have taken the time to develop this blog, The Strait Line.  It is named after a school newsletter my father had as a school principal, and whether it is good or bad, it has been a tremendous joy to me to get back in the habit of writing.  I have made over eighteen hundred blog entries, and my blog traffic has now achieved total page views exceeding 404,000. 

11)  I am thankful that Joe Biden is now President of the United States, and Kamala Harris is the Vice-President.  The fact that the Presidency had been taken over by such a racist misogynist con man buffoon saddened me to no end and made it difficult to sleep at night. It is exceptionally disturbing to know I have friends who voted for Trump twice.  It is incredibly terrifying to know that many of them are still refusing to accept that Biden won. Nevertheless, I am grateful to soon have such an intelligent and caring President assuming office on January 20th, 2021.   I am simply grateful every morning I wake up and that the foul creature who previously occupied the  White House has not put an end to life on Earth.  It makes you realize how precious every day is.

12) I am thankful that Obamacare has survived its challenges, and even though I fear for its future, I still believe it can provide the stepping stone to greater things. It is a vital step toward universal health care and towards a more equitable, fiscally sound, and morally decent system.  If the Supreme Court is foolish enough to repeal Obamacare, then all it will do is galvanize the public to bring about Medicare For All that much quicker.  All the efforts against it have only made Obamacare more popular.  I pray that people will see through this charade and move us back on the path towards the only morally and fiscally responsible healthcare system, single-payer, best implemented in the USA as Medicare For All. I am grateful for the efforts the Biden Administration has pt in to expand healthcare affordability and access.

13) I am thankful that virtually all countries and many corporations, states, and local governments recognize the gravest threat facing our planet; climate change/global warming will finally start to be addressed. And that the incoming administration will make it an American priority once again.  We have little time left to mitigate, and I pray we do not waste it.

14) I am thankful that even though the progressive agenda may not be moving as fast as I want, at least the promise of a better future holds.  I am incredibly grateful that in the last election, the Progressive Wing of the Democratic Party grew.   Many of the new representatives are Progressive Democrats, not Corporate or Blue Dog. The Progressives are articulating many of the positions vital to me and forcing the media and the Corporate Democrats to give these issues at least a passing thought.  They are laying the groundwork for what I believe and pray will be the Progressive majority takeover in 2022.  The House has passed a record amount of legislation, but the SENATE, with Joe Manchin and Krysten Sinema,  blocks a good deal of it.  I am thankful that the President was twice impeached, even though the Republican Senate failed to do its job.  At least we have that on the record.

15) I am thankful that I still can seek out and find liberal friends to talk to in this conservative area. Yes, Biden got only 13% of the vote in my home county, the same percentage as Hillary Clinton. Nevertheless, thanks to social media and other contacts, I can find like-minded people and not feel so alone. I am grateful to have supported Elizabeth Waren in the primary and Joe Biden in the general. I am grateful that for the first time in American history, we have a female Vice-President. 

16) I am thankful that I can read and enjoy the pleasures of the printed page.  I know that some people laugh at my elaborate method of randomly picking new books to read, but it gives me great pleasure, which is the most essential part.  I am currently reading The Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, the third book in a great but bloody fantasy series, the best I have read since The Game of Thrones.

17) I am thankful for the television streaming services we have and the features that let me watch the programs I want when I want to watch them.   I am also grateful for the high-speed internet that makes streaming so practical.  We just finished the third season of the amazing Ted Lasso. We are in the middle of Mr. Mercedes, and hope to soon start Only Murders in the Building with Steve Martin and Martin Short. 

18) I am thankful for pets.  We have four beautiful dogs, Dachshund mixes, who are loving and have long, waggy tails.  Well, our newest, Boss-A-Man, maybe more chihuahua and Pomeranian, but he is marvelously sweet, and I'm glad I get to spend more time with him in my retirement. We also have a cat who is, on rare occasions, sweet, Skitty.   

19) I am thankful for the movies.  I love storytelling of all kinds, and there is still nothing like going to the movie theater.  With COVID-19, we have seen more movies from home. However, we did see two movies at the theatres - Black Widow and The Green Knight.

20) I am thankful for continuing medical advances that help extend and improve the quality of life.  I am at the edge of being diabetic, but I will fight it off with everything I have.  Well, after Thanksgiving dinner, of course.

21) I am thankful that communities still come together sometimes to support neighbors in crisis, like with sick children or suffering a fire or other tragedy.  This has been tempered by the immature and self-centered reaction many have had to COVID-19, but many understand the gravity of what we are facing, and I pray for the best.

22) I am thankful for those friends I have discovered or reconnected with through Facebook.  I am most grateful to Benita Vierke Collins for her friendship and her efforts and at reconnecting with the Bridgeport High School Class of 73 (and adjacent years), including such friends as Coleen Hitsman Anegon, Dona Bow Kilbourne, Lisa Whitehead, Karen Iffil, Pete Pasterz, and Linda Arnst Spayeth (who has been so supportive of my writing efforts).

23) I am thankful for the great joy comic books have brought to my life.  I have been a fan and collector since I have been 5 years old.  Recently, Superman has been rebooted again, but the results have been AMAZING, with Lois and Clark married with a son.  Action Comics and Detective Comics have been restored to their original numbering, and I couldn't be happier.  Many Marvel Comics have a secret Legacy number on their front page, and I am grateful for that.  I have also discovered app services that allow me to read thousands of comics online.  Although I'm not fond of reading books on a Kindle, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading comic books, where the print is larger, and I can read a panel at a time.

24) I am thankful for Christmas and the opportunity to express such joy and love to others.

25) I am thankful for the peacemakers, all the diplomats, and others who spend so much time and effort to make the world a better place to live.  I pray that we give them the space to do their best in all the hot spots worldwide.  I am thankful that the Biden administration has put grown-ups back in charge of diplomacy.

26) I am thankful for the first responders, who often put their lives on the line for us.  This year includes firemen, police, medical providers, and retail workers, including grocery store clerks and food service workers.

27)  I am thankful for ketchup, the condiment of the gods. I am grateful there is a low sugar version that I can use, at least some, as I fight off diabetes.

28)  I am thankful for Cherry Coke, the nectar of the gods.  I am grateful there is a Stevia (Zevia) version.

29)  I am thankful for colder weather, so I can go out sometimes without having to worry about the gnats.   I love our porch and am grateful to enjoy it without buzzing around my ears. That's not every Fall/Winter day here in Southeast Georgia, but it does happen often enough to celebrate it when it does. 

30) I am thankful for God and for love. 

31) I am thankful for Jesus Christ, who resides in my heart and urges me to love God, love my neighbors, and do everything I can to make this a better world.

Time's up!  On to Thanksgiving festivities!

November's End

 It's the last day of November.

Well, it is as I write this.

These blog posts stay available for as long as my blog operates, so some of you may be reading it at a radically different time.

Maybe in that different time, the virus has been reigned under control by vaccines and good behavior.  Ok, maybe vaccines.  We are in a world of hurt right now because EVERYBODY IS IGNORING IT.  At least around me, here in South Georgia.  It's a real nightmare.

Thanksgiving break is through.  Alison left for work today.  I will do so in a little bit - I'll start at the church and then go to my day job.  Benjamin is at home, preparing for his online finals.

Somebody may come today and chop down the oak tree.  It is not well, and it will be better to remove it than have it crash on our house.

President Bone Spurs cling to the illusion that he won the election.  Some may be sucked in by this, but most are seeing more clearly how truly crazy Trump is.  At least, I hope so.  I guess it's time to give up on some people ever waking up.

This is short.  I got a late start writing.

Tomorrow starts Advent.  And then, in four weeks, it will be Christmas season.  

Peace be with you!

T. M. Strait

31 Minutes of Thankfulness 2020 Edition

 

31 Minutes of Thankfulness 2020 Edison

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I hope everyone gets to celebrate with family and friends!

I have about 31 minutes before I start on other Thanksgiving prep.  I'll take advantage of this brief gap to update my new edition of thankfulness.

Yesterday we had our Thanksgiving brunch with Alison's father, his wife, and Alison's stepsister, and young son, Graham.  It featured a sausage casserole, hash browns, a bacon/apple/cheese biscuit, and a lemon/blueberry pound cake. Today we have a Thanksgiving meal with Doug and Paige, and it features an organic free  range turkey that they are bringing with them, dressing, and squash casserole. 

So that's how much time I have to do my version of the 31 days of Thankfulness I see so many of my friends doing on the Facebook machine.

So here goes!

1)  I am thankful for Alison and Benjamin.  We have a beautiful family, and it so comforting to be loved and supported.  Benjamin has started his second year at college!  He attends Georga College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.  He is going gangbusters in college, even better than I anticipated. Like all of our college students, he is doing the best he can to cope with the pandemic and has faithfully followed all protocols to keep himself and others safe.  He has switched from Psychology to Computer Science as a major and is taking it to it amazingly well. Alison is beautiful and patient, practical, and loving.  She has been outstanding at her workplace, focused on helping to provide nutritional meals to students, whether they are attending school or are homebound during the Pandemic.  She has helped Benjamin immensely in dealing with university bureaucracy and keeping Benjamin on track in school work and college admissions.  

2) I am thankful for my two older boys, Douglas and Gregory.  Douglas is an environmental scientist in Atlanta.  Gregory is living the family dream, working in Hollywood in the movie industry.  He has most recently been the editorial colorist on the TV show For All Mankind. His workload has been reduced because of the Pandemic, but that is slowly coming back, including a special COVID-19 episode of the CBS series All rise. I couldn't be prouder of both of them.  I am grateful that Doug has a beautiful wife, Paige, and both are working from home and have done much to set up their new home, including turning their suburban home into a centerpiece for suburban farming and environmental soundness (including solar panels). I am grateful that my older boys have taken so much to Benjamin and have been great mentors and friends to him.

3) I am thankful for my loving parents.  My mother, who passed in October 2008, taught me the power of unconditional love.  My father, who passed in September 2013, taught me more about responsibility and hard work, and about the true meaning of Christianity, than anyone else I've ever known.  I think of them often and miss them terribly.  I am grateful for the love and memories they have given me.

4) I am thankful I have a loving, caring sister.  Carol and her family have always been supportive and kind to me.  She did so much for my father, I am so grateful.  I am excited that she is now a Grandmother, with four (count 'em - four!) grandchildren.   Carol and Mike now live in the Grand Rapids area and live closer to her daughter and grand-daughters, Bailey and Morgan.  And now her son and daughter-in-law also live in the Grand Rapids area! 

5) l am thankful for my church family.  Grace Episcopal has been essential in our family's spiritual and social life, and I am appreciative of the connections we have made and all the support and Christian fellowship they have given us.  No church in the area has done more to stay safe and start services up in a protective and caring manner as Grace has.  I am thankful for everything that Rev. Kit Brinson has brought to our church, and it has been a joy to watch it grow, diversify, and become the hands and feet of Christ in our local community.  

6) I am thankful for my work.  I'm not going to pretend that accounting is something I love to do.  But my employers and co-workers have made it to be as pleasant an experience as it can be.  And I love that I am now "60% retired," working only about 15 to 18 hours a week.  It has helped give me the space to write more and help me where I have finished two novels, History of the Trap and Crowley Stories: Swamp's Edge, and the short novella, My Europa.  I have in the neighborhood of a  million words on my blog, The Strait Line.  Crowley Stories: Swamp's Edge is now on Kindle and paperback form.  I also added A Christmas with Pegasus as an eshort, with a great cover by Kennedy Brice. Sales have not been sensational, but those who read my stories seem to love them and want to know where the next book in the series is, and that's the highest compliment I can get.  I have finished but not marketed The Extra Credit Club and am working on the second of the History of the Trap series.

7) I am thankful that I can act, at least well enough to participate in community theatre.  Getting on stage and feeling the audience's response has been one of the great pleasures of my life. I have been unable to perform this year due to COVID-19, but I am looking forward to returning.

8) I am thankful for the theatre groups in our area and everything they do to contribute to the area's arts.

9) I am thankful for the Okefenokee Heritage Center. I appreciate their support of artists in our area, particularly writers.

10) I am thankful that I have taken the time to develop this blog, The Strait Line.  It is named after a school newsletter my father had as a school principal, and whether it is good or bad, it has been a tremendous joy to me to get back in the habit of writing.  I have made over eighteen hundred blog entries, and my blog traffic has now achieved total page views exceeding 381,000. 

11)  I am thankful that Joe Biden is now President of the United States, and Kamala Harris is the Vice-President Elect.  The fact that the Presidency had been taken over by such a racist misogynist con man buffoon saddened me to no end and made it difficult to sleep at night. It is exceptionally disturbing to know I have friends who voted for Trump twice.  Nevertheless, I am grateful to soon have such an intelligent and caring President assuming office on January 20th, 2021.   I am simply grateful every morning I wake up, and that foul creature occupying the White House has not put an end to life on Earth.  It makes you realize how precious every day is.

12) I am thankful that Obamacare has survived its challenges, and even though I fear for its future, I still believe it can provide the stepping stone to greater things. It is a vital step forward to universal health care and towards a more equitable, fiscally sound, and morally decent system.  If the Supreme Court is foolish enough to repeal Obamacare, then all it will do is galvanize the public to bring about Medicare For All that much quicker.  All the efforts against it have only made Obamacare more popular.  I pray that people will see through this charade and move us back on the path towards the only morally and fiscally responsible healthcare system, single-payer, best implemented in the USA as Medicare For All.

13) I am thankful that virtually all countries and many corporations, states, and local governments recognize the gravest threat facing our planet, climate change/global warming will finally start to be addressed. and that the incoming administration will make it an American priority once again.  We have little time left to mitigate, and I pray we do not waste it.

14) I am thankful that even though the progressive agenda may not be moving as fast as I want, at least the promise of a better future holds.  I am incredibly grateful that in the last election, the Progressive Wing of the Democratic Party grew.   Many of the new representatives are Progressive Democrats, not Corporate or Blue Dog. The Progressives are articulating many of the positions vital to me and forcing the media and the Corporate Democrats to give these issues at least a passing thought.  They are laying the groundwork for what I believe and pray will be the Progressive majority takeover in 2022.  The House has passed a record amount of legislation, but the DO NOTHING SENATE, led by Senator McConnell, blocks it all.  I am thankful that the President was impeached, even though the Republican Senate failed to do its job.  At least we have that on the record.

15) I am thankful that I still can seek out and find liberal friends to talk to in this conservative area. Yes, Biden got only 13% of the vote in my home county, the same percentage as Hillary Clinton. Nevertheless, thanks to social media and other contacts, I can find like-minded people and not feel so alone. I am grateful to have supported Elizabeth Waren in the primary and Joe Biden in the general. I am grateful that for the first time in American history, we will have a female Vice-President. 

16) I am thankful that I can read and enjoy the pleasures of the printed page.  I know that some people laugh at my elaborate method of randomly picking new books to read, but it gives me great pleasure, which is the most essential part.  I am currently reading Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick, a story of the American Revolution focusing on George Washington and Benedict Arnold.

17) I am thankful for the television streaming services we have and the features that let me watch the programs I want when I want to watch them.   I am also grateful for the high-speed internet that makes streaming so practical.  We just finished the first season of Santa Clarita Diet and the first season of Ted Lasso. We are in the middle of The Undoing, The Amazing Race, and Fargo. 

18) I am thankful for pets.  We have four beautiful dogs, Dachshund mixes, who are loving and have long, waggy tails.  Well, our newest, Boss-A-Man, maybe more chihuahua and Pomeranian, but he is marvelously sweet, and I'm glad I get to spend more time with him in my semi-retirement. We also have a cat who is, on rare occasions, sweet, Skitty.   

19) I am thankful for the movies.  I love storytelling of all kinds, and there is still nothing like going to the movie theater.  With COVID-19, we have been seeing more movies from home.  The last movie we saw at the theater was Doctor Dolittle, back in January.

20) I am thankful for continuing medical advances that help extend and improve the quality of life.  I am at the edge of being diabetic, but I will fight it off with everything that I have.  Well, after Thanksgiving dinner, of course.

21) I am thankful that communities still come together sometimes to support neighbors in crisis, like with sick children or suffering a fire or other tragedy.  This has been tempered by the immature and self-centered reaction many have had to COVID-19, but many understand the gravity of what we are facing, and I pray for the best.

22) I am thankful for those friends I have discovered or reconnected with through Facebook.  I am most grateful to Benita Vierke Collins for her friendship and her efforts, and at reconnecting with the Bridgeport High School Class of 73 (and adjacent years), including such friends as Coleen Hitsman Anegon, Dona Bow Kilbourne, Lisa Whitehead, Karen Iffil, Pete Pasterz, Sandy Lurins (whom sadly lost her life this year), and Linda Arnst Spayeth (who has been so supportive of my writing efforts).

23) I am thankful for the great joy comic books have brought to my life.  I have been a fan and collector since I have been 5 years old.  Recently, Superman has been rebooted yet again, but the results have been AMAZING, with Lois and Clark married with a son.  Action Comics and Detective Comics have been restored to their original numbering, and I couldn't be happier.  Many Marvel Comics have a secret Legacy number on their front page, and I am grateful for that. 

24) I am thankful for Christmas and the opportunity to express such joy and love to others.

25) I am thankful for the peacemakers, all the diplomats, and others who spend so much time and effort to make the world a better place to live.  I pray that we give them the space to do their best in all the hot spots worldwide.  I am thankful that the Biden administration will put grown-ups back in charge of diplomacy.

26) I am thankful for the first responders, who often put their lives on the line for us.  This year that includes firemen, police, medical providers, and retail workers, including grocery store clerks and food service workers.

27)  I am thankful for ketchup, the condiment of the gods. I am grateful there is a low sugar version that I can use at least some as I fight off diabetes.

28)  I am thankful for Cherry Coke, the nectar of the gods.  I am grateful there is a Stevia (Zevia) version.

29)  I am thankful for colder weather, so I can go out sometimes without having to worry about the gnats.   I love our porch and am grateful to enjoy without buzzing around my ears. That's not every Fall/Winter day here in Southeast Georgia, but it does happen often enough to celebrate it when it does. 

30) I am thankful for God, and for love.

31) I am thankful for Jesus Christ, who resides in my heart and urges me to love God, love my neighbors, and do everything I can to make this a better world.

Time's up!  On to Thanksgiving festivities!

Thanksgiving ala Pandemic

 

Look, I'm going to try to be overly judgemental here.  But, please, do what you can to keep you and your family and loved ones safe.

Confirmed cases are rising across the country, as is the number of deaths.  We may not have yet hit the peak, and bad behavior at Thanksgiving could make it even worse.

Obviously, this should not be the year of large, maskless gatherings held indoors with people in close proximity.

I can't over lecture because we will have some small gatherings, but we are using every precaution that we can.  

This morning, we will have brunch with Alison's father and his wife.  It will also be attended by Alison's stepsister, and their toddle son.  It will be outdoors, with separate tables and masks as much as possible.  These are all people we have been around before.

Thanksgiving Day, my middle son, Doug, and his beautiful spouse, Paige, will be at my house for a brief visit.  They will be our only visitors. The work from home, and have used the utmost caution, and we will continue to do so as they visit us.

After Thanksgiving Day, we may have a visit from Alison's Mom, Rose.  She wears a mask and will sit more than six feet from the rest of us.  These are tentative plans. If she does not feel comfortable, we will send her food, and Alison will visit her.  Alsion has been around her more often than the rest of us.

Is this a perfect plan?  I don't know.  But I daresay we are using more caution than most.

Until a vaccine becomes common, we still have a few more holidays to get through.  If we can just be cautious a little while longer, I think it will pay off in the health and well-being of those around us.

Stay safe.

Love, 

Tom, Alison & Benjamin

Porch Week!

Porch Week!

Alison has the week off, and I have a huge chunk of it, so it's the perfect week to enjoy our screened-in back porch!

Alison has a book, her iPad, a rocking chair, and Boss-A-Man on her lap.  Does life get any better?

Well, it is chilly for a South Georgian, about 50 degrees, but always better cool than hot, I always say!

Cocoa Bear contemplates a major league back yard wander.  But what to do?  The outdoors looks so inviting, but Mama is on the porch.  Do I leave Mama?

Wait!

SQUIRREL!!!

Enjoy the outdoors, Cocoa Bear!

Oh, my stars and garters!

A giant bird is thinking about landing on our bird feeder.

I hope not!  It could crush it!

What a bright and beautiful morning!

Thanksgiving Week is here.

The weather is cool and crisp.

The sun is shining, and the birds are chirping (well, not the big one - that one's pretty quiet).

We have plenty to read.

Benjamin is returning home from college today.

The Biden transition has begun.

I know it's a tough one with the pandemic reaching terrible heights, and we must use caution, but there is still much to be thankful for, still much to love and care about.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

 

31 Minutes of Thankfulness 2019 Edition

31 Minutes of Thankfulness 2019 Edison

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I hope everyone gets to celebrate with family and friends!

I have about 31 minutes before I start on other Thanksgiving prep.  I'll take advantage of this brief gap to update to my new edition of thankfulness.

Yesterday we had our Thanksgiving brunch with Alison's father, his wife, and Alison's stepsister, her husband and young son, Graham.  It featured grits, sausage gravy and biscuits, hash brown casserole, apple pumpkin bread, and more! Today we have a Thanksgiving meal with Alison's Mom, and it features smoked turkey, dressing, and squash casserole. 

So that's how much time I have to do my version of the 31 days of Thankfulness I see so many of my friends doing on the Facebook machine.

So here goes!

1)  I am thankful for Alison and Benjamin.  We have a beautiful family, and it so comforting to be loved and supported.  Benjamin has started his first year at college!  He attends Georga College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.  He is going gangbusters in college, even better than I anticipated.  He participates in two choirs, an improv group, an Episcopal Youth Group, numerous gaming groups, and has applied to be a Community Advisor next year. Alison is beautiful and patient, practical, and loving.  She has been outstanding at her workplace and has done excellent planning for our family trips, including our Canadian trip to Toronto.  She has helped Benjamin immensely in dealing with university bureaucracy, and on keeping Benjamin on track in school work and college admissions.  

2) I am thankful for my two older boys, Douglas and Gregory.  Douglas is an environmental scientist in Atlanta.  Gregory is living the family dream, working in Hollywood in the movie industry.  He has most recently been the editorial colorist on the TV show For All Mankind. I couldn't be prouder of both of them.  I am grateful that Doug has a beautiful wife, Paige, and was overjoyed to be a part of their wedding.  Paige's father was also the minister who officiated the marriage! I am grateful that both my older boys have taken so much to Benjamin, and have been great mentors and friends to him.

3) I am thankful for my loving parents.  My mother, who passed in October 2008, taught me the power of unconditional love.  My father, who passed in September 2013, taught me more about responsibility and hard work, and about the true meaning of Christianity, than anyone else I've ever known.  I think of them often and miss them terribly.  I am grateful for the love and memories they have given me.

4) I am thankful I have a loving, caring sister.  Carol and her family have always been supportive and kind to me.  She did so much for my father, I am so grateful.  I am excited that she is now a Grandmother, with three (count 'em - three!) grandchildren.   Carol and Mike now live in the Grand Rapids area and live closer to her daughter and grand-daughters, Bailey and Morgan.  And now her son and daughter-in-law in Chicago, also have a son! I see lots of visits to Chicago in their future! 

5) l am thankful for my church family.  Grace Episcopal has been essential in the spiritual and social life of our family, and I am appreciative of the connections we have made and all the support and Christian fellowship they have given us.  I am thankful for everything that Rev. Kit Brinson has brought to our church, and it has been a joy to watch it grow, diversify, and become the hands and feet of Christ in our local community.  

6) I am thankful for my work.  I'm not going to pretend that accounting is something I love to do.  But my employers and co-workers have made it to be as pleasant an experience as it can be.  And I love that I am now "60% retired" working only about 15 to 18 hours a week.  It has helped give me the space to write more, and help me where I have finished two novels, History of the Trap and Crowley Stories: Swamp's Edge, and the short novella, My Europa.  I have in the neighborhood of a  million words on my blog, The Strait Line.  Crowley Stories: Swamp's Edge is now on Kindle and paperback form.  I also added A Christmas with Pegasus as an eshort, with a great cover by Kennedy Brice. Sales have not been sensational, but those who read my stories seem to love them, and want to know where the next book in the series is, and that's the highest compliment I can get.  I am currently working on The Extra Credit Club (first draft 95% complete)and then will begin work on the second of the History of the Trap series.

7) I am thankful that I can act, at least well enough to participate in community theatre.  Getting on stage and feeling the response of the audience has been one of the great pleasures of my life. I am delighted that I was able to participate in The Murder on the Orient Express as Monsieur Bouc.  It is true that I am doing fewer plays per year now, but it just makes me appreciate more those plays that I do.

8) I am thankful for the theatre group, Purlie Productions,  and everything they do to contribute to the arts in the area.

9) I am thankful for the Writers Guild and the Okefenokee Heritage Center. It has been a great joy to help form and support a group dedicated to the arts, and help local writers connect.

10) I am thankful that I have taken the time to develop this blog, The Strait Line.  It is named after a school newsletter my father had as a school principal, and whether it is good or bad, it has been a tremendous joy to me to get back in the habit of writing.  I have made over eighteen hundred blog entries, and my blog traffic has now achieved total page views exceeding 359,000. 

11)  I am thankful that Barack Obama was a successful President of the United States for eight wonderful years.  The fact that the Presidency has been taken over by such a racist misogynist con man buffoon saddens me to no end and makes it difficult to sleep at night, and is exceptionally disturbing to know I have friends who still support Trump.  Nevertheless, I am grateful to have had such an intelligent and caring President for those eight years, and I miss him more than you can imagine.  Now I am simply grateful every morning I wake up, and that foul creature occupying the White House has not put an end to life on Earth.  It makes you realize how precious every day is.

12) I am thankful that Obamacare has survived its challenges, and even though I fear for its future, I still believe it can provide the stepping stone to greater things. It is a vital step forward to universal health care and towards a more equitable, fiscally sound, and morally decent system.  If the Republicans are foolish enough to repeal Obamacare, then all it will do is galvanize the public to bring about Medicare For All that much quicker.  Right now, they continue their efforts to sabotage and undermine it.  All their efforts have only made Obamacare more popular.  I pray that people will see through this charade, and move us back on the path towards the only morally and fiscally responsible healthcare system, single-payer, best implemented in the USA as Medicare For All (not Medicare For All You Want It - that title is just stupid and annoying).

13) I am thankful that virtually all countries and many corporations, states, and local governments recognize the gravest threat facing our planet, climate change/global warming will finally start to be addressed. Not by America anymore, however. This is one of the darkest things we face, this continued climate change denial that grips so many, but I pray that we wake up soon and change.  In some ways, we have already run out of time, but I pray it is not late.  If Trump wins in 2020, then we might as well start a wake for the whole planet.

14) I am thankful that even though the progressive agenda may not be moving as fast as I want, at least the promise of a better future holds.  I am incredibly grateful that in the last election, the Democratic Party retook the House of Representatives, and will provide a vital check on the authoritarian fascism practiced by the orange con man.   I am grateful for the courageous runs made by Lisa Ring for our Congressional Representative in the 1st District of Georgia, and for Greg O'Dricoll for State House.  They offered a refreshing new view to this area and planted the seeds for future improvement.  Many of the new representatives are Progressive Democrats, not Corporate or Blue Dog. The Progressives are articulating many of the positions vital to me and forcing the media and the Corporate Democrats to give these issues at least a passing thought.  They are laying the groundwork for what I believe and pray will be the Progressive majority takeover in 2020.  The House has passed a record amount of legislation, but the DO NOTHING SENATE, led by Senator McConnell, blocks it all.  I am thankful that impeachment inquiries have begun, and that no matter how they turn out, they are making it harder and harder for Trumpeteers to rationalize their continued support of this reckless and corrupt man.

15) I am thankful that even in this radically conservative area, I still can seek out and find liberal friends to talk to.  Lisa Ring received only 10% of the vote in my home county, but I know many of those who voted for her and those who earlier voted for Bernie Sanders, and I am grateful that I found them.  Some ask who I support in 2020.  I will vote for anyone who can run a credible campaign against Trumpp, but my first choice is Senator Elizabeth Warren.  I prefer the Democratic Party to run a woman for President...AND Vice-President.  It's time.  It's way past time.

16) I am thankful that I can read and enjoy the pleasures of the printed page.  I know that some people laugh at my elaborate method of randomly picking new books to read, but it gives me great pleasure, and that is the most essential part.  I am currently reading The Testaments, Margaret Atwood's sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.

17) I am thankful for the television streaming services we have and the features that let me watch the programs I want when I want to watch them.   I am also grateful for the high-speed internet that makes streaming so practical.  We just finished the second season of Succession, and are in the middle of Castle Rock, Watchmen, and The Dublin Murders.  We are also watching my son Greg's  For All Mankind, one of the best shoes I've ever seen, certainly the best alternate history. 

18) I am thankful for pets.  We have four beautiful dogs, Dachshund mixes who are loving and have long, waggy tails.  Well, our newest, Boss-A-Man, maybe more chihuahua and Pomeranian, but he is marvelously sweet, and I'm glad I get to spend more time with him, in my semi-retirement. We also have a cat who is on rare occasions, sweet, Skitty.   

19) I am thankful for the movies.  I love storytelling of all kinds, and there is still nothing like going to the movie theater.  The best we have seen recently is Doctor Sleep and   Avengers: Endgame.

20) I am thankful for continuing medical advances that help extend and improve the quality of life.  I am at the edge of being diabetic, but I am going to fight it off with everything that I have.  Well, after Thanksgiving dinner, of course.

21) I am thankful that communities still come together sometimes to support neighbors in crisis, like with sick children, or suffering a fire or other tragedy.  The assistance given to others during the recent fires in California have been heartwarming, but Trump's cold and disturbing reaction to the fires have been heart-breaking and disturbing, threatening to cut off aid, and blathering about forest rakes.

22) I am thankful for those friends I have discovered or reconnected with through Facebook.  I am most grateful to Benita Vierke Collins, for her friendship and her efforts, and at reconnecting with the Bridgeport High School Class of 73 (and adjacent years), including such friends as Coleen Hitsman Anegon, Dona Bow Kilbourne, Lisa Whitehead, Karen Iffil, Pete Pasterz, Sandy Lurins, and Linda Arnst Spayeth (who has been so supportive of my writing efforts).

23) I am thankful for the great joy comic books have brought to my life.  I have been a fan and collector since I have been 5 years old.  Recently, Superman has been rebooted yet again, but the results have been AMAZING, with Lois and Clark married with a son.  Action Comics and Detective Comics have been restored to their original numbering, and I couldn't be happier.  I am saddened by the loss of Stan Lee, who had a prominent hand in the creation of so many Marvel characters, and whose legacy of decency and advocacy of Democracy will burn within me for the rest of my life, and in the lives of my sons as well.

24) I am thankful for Christmas, and the opportunity to express such joy and love to others.

25) I am thankful for the peacemakers, all the diplomats and others who spend so much time and effort to make the world a better place to live.  I pray that we give them the space to do what they can in Syria and other hot spots around the world.  I am thankful for the many Americans who have been willing to welcome the Syrian refugees and others in crisis.  You may not know from listening to the darkest politician of my age, Donald Trump, or others echoing his bigoted and hateful sentiments, but there are still many Americans, of diverse faith and politics, who still care about people and remember that this is a NATION of immigrants and refugees.  I am grateful for the courts for slowing down his blatant MUSLIM ban. Unfortunately for the world, we have put this hateful bigot in charge.  I can only pray that goodness and diplomacy still prevail.  

26) I am thankful for the first responders, who often put their lives on the line for us.

27)  I am thankful for ketchup, the condiment of the gods. I am grateful there is a low sugar version that I can use at least some as I fight off diabetes.

28)  I am thankful for Cherry Coke, the nectar of the gods.  I am grateful there is a Stevia (Zevia) version.

29)  I am thankful for colder weather, so I can go out sometimes without having to worry about the gnats.   That's not every Fall/Winter day here in Southeast Georgia, but it does happen often enough to celebrate it when it does. 

30) I am thankful for God, and for love.

31) I am thankful for Jesus Christ, who resides in my heart and urges me to love God, love my neighbors, and do everything I can to make this a better world.

Time's up!  On to Thanksgiving festivities!

31 Minutes of Thankfulness 2018 Edison

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

I hope everyone gets to celebrate with family and friends!

I have about 31 minutes before I start on other Thanksgiving prep.  I'll take advantage of this brief gap to update to my new edition of thankfulness.

Yesterday we had our Thanksgiving dinner with Alison's father, his wife, and Alison's stepsister, her husband and young son, Graham.  Today my middle son, Doug, and his fiancee, Paige, are coming from Atlanta, to be with us on Thanksgiving, along with Alison's Mom. 

So that's how much time I have to do my version of the 31 days of Thankfulness I see so many of my friends doing on the Facebook machine.

So here goes!

1)  I am thankful for Alison and Benjamin.  We have a wonderful family, and it so comforting to be loved and supported.  Benjamin is very smart, polite, and a great young thespian, participant in local gaming groups, and he is now a senior in high school  He has been accepted to two colleges, Georgia Southern and Georgia College, and is under consideration at the University of Georgia.  Benjamin and I had the pleasure of performing together in The Addams Family - an experience I will always treasure. Alison is beautiful and patient, practical and loving.  She has been outstanding at her workplace and has done great planning for our trip to Ireland, and on keeping Benjamin on track in school work and college admissions.

2) I am thankful for my two older boys, Douglas and Gregory.  Douglas is an environmental scientist in Atlanta.  Gregory is living the family dream, working in Hollywood in the movie industry.  I couldn't be prouder of both of them.  I am grateful that Doug has a beautiful fiancee, Paige, and will both be visiting us starting Thanksgiving Day!  It was a great privilege and joy to witness his proposal and engagement while we were on vacation together in Ireland. I am grateful that both my older boys have taken so much to Benjamin, and have been great mentors and friends to him.

3) I am thankful for my loving parents.  My mother, who passed in October 2008, taught me the power of unconditional love.  My father, who passed in September 2013, taught me more about responsibility and hard work, and about the true meaning of Christianity, than anyone else I've ever known.  I think of them often and miss them terribly.  I am grateful for the love and memories they have given me.

4) I am thankful I have a loving, caring sister.  Carol and her family have always been supportive and kind to me.  She did so much for my father, I am so grateful.  I am excited that she is now a Grandmother, with three (count 'em - three!) grandchildren.   Carol and Mike now live in the Grand Rapids area and live closer to her daughter and grand-daughters, Bailey and Morgan.  And now her son and daughter-in-law in Chicago, also have a son! I see lots of visits to Chicago in their future!  And we got to enjoy a unique vacation with Carol and Mike in St. Simons this last September.  We got to eat and talk a lot, both Strait family specialties. 

5) I am thankful for my church family.  Grace Episcopal has been essential in the spiritual and social life of our family, and I am appreciative of the connections we have made and all the support and Christian fellowship they have given us.  I am thankful for everything that Rev. Kit Brinson has brought to our church, and it has been a joy to watch it grow, diversify, and become the hands and feet of Christ in our local community.  

6) I am thankful for my work.  I'm not going to pretend that accounting is something I love to do.  But my employers and co-workers have made it to be as pleasant an experience as it can be.  And I love that I am now "60% retired" working only about 15 to 18 hours a week.  It has helped give me the space to write more, and help me where I have finished two novels, History of the Trap and Crowley Stories: Swamp's Edge, and the short novella, My Europa.  I have in the neighborhood of a  million words on my blog, The Strait Line.  Crowley Stories: Swamp's Edge is now in Kindle and paperback form.  I also added A Christmas with Pegasus as an eshort, with a great cover by Kennedy Brice. Sales have not been sensational, but those who read my stories seem to love them, and want to know where the next book in the series is, and that's the highest compliment I can get.  I am currently working on The Extra Credit Club and then will begin work on the second of the History of the Trap series.

7) I am thankful that I can act, at least well enough to participate in community theatre.  Getting onstage and feeling the response of the audience has been one of the great pleasures of my life. I am delighted that I was able to participate in The Addams Family, acting with my son, Benjamin, where I was Fester, and he was Puglsley.  He is a great actor, and it was pure joy being onstage with him.  I was also in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest playing a dual role, working with the extraordinarily talented, Ingmar Connor Griffin in the Jack Nicholson part, having scenes and dialogue with my long-time friend, Kimberly Elizabeth Beck,  and alongside my very good friend, Julianna Lacefield, who was terrific as Nurse Ratchett.

8) I am thankful for the Jeffords, and everything they do to contribute to the arts and children in the area.

9) I am thankful for the Writers Guild and the Okefenokee Heritage Center. It has been a great joy to help form and support a group dedicated to the arts, and help local writers connect.  The fifth Okefenokee Writing Contest was a great success, and I am thankful to all who helped make it so. I am grateful for the support of Elizabeth Simpson, who has done so much to manage, promote and grow the Guild, and is also the high-powered and energetic Executive Director of the Okefenokee Heritage Center. I am particularly grateful to Steve Bean, my friend and former Director of the OHC, and whose spirit I see so alive in Elizabeth.  I mourn his passing, but I am grateful that he touched me and my family's lives' and that he was an integral part of Grace Episcopal.  Everyone who knew him is so much better for having known him, and his spirit will live on with everyone he touched.

10) I am thankful that I have taken the time to develop this blog, The Strait Line.  It is named after a school newsletter my father had as a school principal, and whether it is good or bad, it has been a tremendous joy to me to get back in the habit of writing.  I have made over eighteen hundred blog entries, and my blog traffic has now achieved total page views exceeding 325,000. 

11)  I am thankful that Barack Obama was a successful President of the United States for eight wonderful years.  The fact that the Presidency has been taken over by such a racist misogynist con man buffoon saddens me to no end and makes it difficult to sleep at night, and is exceptionally disturbing to know I have friends who still support Trump.  Nevertheless, I am grateful to have had such an intelligent and caring President for those eight years, and I miss him more than you can imagine.  Now I am simply grateful every morning I wake up, and that foul creature occupying the White House has not put an end to life on Earth.  It makes you realize how precious every day is.

12) I am thankful that Obamacare has survived its challenges and even though I fear for its future, I still believe it can provide the stepping stone to greater things. It is a vital step forward to universal health care and towards a more equitable, fiscally sound, and morally decent system.  If the Republicans are foolish enough to repeal Obamacare, then all it will do is galvanize the public to bring about Medicare For All that much quicker.  Right now, after repeatedly failing to repeal it even though they are in the majority, they continue their efforts to sabotage and undermine it.  All their efforts have only made Obamacare more popular.  I pray that people will see through this charade, and move us back on the path towards the only morally and fiscally responsible healthcare system, single payer, best implemented in the USA as Medicare For All.

13) I am thankful that virtually all countries and many corporations, states, and local governments recognize the gravest threat facing our planet, climate change/global warming , will finally start to be addressed. Not by America anymore, however. This is one of the darkest things we face, this continued climate change denial that grips so many, but I pray that we wake up soon and change.  

14) I am thankful that even though the progressive agenda may not be moving as fast as I want, at least the promise of a better future holds.  I am incredibly grateful that in the last election, the Democratic Party retook the House of Representatives, and will provide a vital check on the authoritarian fascism practiced by the orange con man.   I am grateful for the courageous runs made by Lisa Ring for our Congressional Representative in the 1st District of Georgia, and for Greg O'Dricoll for State House.  They offered a refreshing new view to this area, and planted the seeds for future improvement.  Many of the new representatives are Progressive Democrats, not Corporate or Blue Dog. The Progressives are articulating many of the positions vital to me and forcing the media and the Corporate Democrats to give these issues at least a passing thought.  They are laying the groundwork for what I believe and pray will be the Progressive majority takeover in 2020.  

15) I am thankful that even in this radically conservative area, I still can seek out and find liberal friends to talk to.  Lisa Ring received only 10% of the vote in my home county, but I know many of those who voted for her and those who earlier voted for Bernie Sanders, and I am grateful that I found them.  Some ask who I support in 2020.  I don't know yet, but I know that I prefer the Democratic Party run a woman for President...AND Vice-President.  It's time.  It's way past time.

16) I am thankful that I can read, and enjoy the pleasures of the printed page.  I know that some people laugh at my elaborate method of randomly picking new books to read, but it gives me great pleasure, and that is the most important part.  I am currently reading Trinity, a graphic novel by Wagner.

17) I am thankful for the television streaming services we have, and the features that let me watch the programs I want when I want to watch them.   I am also grateful for the high-speed internet that makes streaming so practical.  We just finished Kidding and are in the middle of The Man in the High Castle.  That and The Handmaid's Tale are among some of the best television I've ever seen. 

18) I am thankful for pets.  We have four wonderful dogs, Dachshund mixes who are loving and have long, waggy tails.  Well, our newest, Boss-A-Man, may be more chihuahua and Pomerian, but he is marvelously sweet, and I'm glad I get to spend more time with him, in my semi-retirement. We also have a cat who is on rare occasion sweet, Skitty.   

19) I am thankful for movies.  I love storytelling of all kinds, and there is still nothing like going to the movie theater.  The best we have seen recently is Bohmian Rhapsody and Bad Day at the El Royale.  Avengers: Infinity Wars still stands out in my mind, too.

20) I am thankful for continuing medical advances that help extend and improve the quality of life.

21) I am thankful that communities still come together sometimes to support neighbors in crisis, like with sick children, or suffering a fire, or other tragedy.  The assistance given to others during the recent fires in California have been heartwarming, but Trump's cold and disturbing reaaction to the fires have been heart-breaking and disturbing, threatening to cut off aid, and blathering about forest rakes.

22) I am thankful for those friends I have discovered or reconnected with through Facebook.  I am most grateful to Benita Vierke Collins, for her friendship and her efforts, and at reconnecting with the Bridgeport High School Class of 73 (and adjacent years), including such friends as Coleen Hitsman Anegon, Dona Bow Kilbourne, Lisa Whitehead, Karen Iffil, Pete Pasterz, Sandy Lurins, and Linda Arnst Spayeth (who has been so supportive of my writing efforts).

23) I am thankful for the great joy comic books have brought to my life.  I have been a fan and collector since I have been 5 years old.  Recently, Superman has been rebooted yet again, but the results have been AMAZING, with Lois and Clark married with a son.  Action Comics and Detective Comics have been restored to their original numbering, and I couldn't be happier.  I am saddened by the loss of Stan Lee, who had a prominent hand in the creation of so many Marvel characters, and whose legacy of decency and advocacy of Democracy will burn within me for the rest of my life, and in the lives of my sons as well.

24) I am thankful for Christmas, and the opportunity to express such joy and love to others.

25) I am thankful for the peacemakers, all the diplomats and others who spend so much time and efforts to make the world a better place to live.  I pray that we give them the space to do what they can in Syria and other hot spots around the world.  I am thankful for the many Americans who have been willing to welcome the Syrian refugees and others in crisis.  You may not know from listening to the darkest politician of my age, Donald Trump, or others echoing his bigoted and hateful sentiments, but there are still many Americans, of diverse faith and politics, who still care about people and remember that this is a NATION of immigrants and refugees.  I am grateful for the courts for slowing down his blatant MUSLIM ban. Unfortunately for the world, we have put the hateful bigot in charge.  I can only pray that goodness and diplomacy still prevail.  

26) I am thankful for the first responders, who often put their lives on the line for us.

27)  I am thankful for ketchup, the condiment of the gods.

28)  I am thankful for Cherry Coke, the nectar of the gods.

29)  I am thankful for colder weather, so I can go out sometimes without having to worry about the gnats.   That's not every Fall/Winter day here in Southeast Georgia, but it does happen often enough to celebrate it when it does.  I was grateful last winter to see the best snowfall here n a generation.

30) I am thankful for God, and for love.

31) I am thankful for Jesus Christ, who resides in my heart, and  urges me to love God, love my neighbors, and do everything I can to make this a better world.

Time's up!  On to Thanksgiving festivities!