Things to be Thankful for this Thanksgiving 2020
It’s been a tough year – more than 260,000 Americans are dead from the COVID virus (an astounding 60 Million! have been infected worldwide), innumerable businesses have been destroyed and countless folks have been thrust into great uncertainty, if not outright poverty, as a result. If that weren’t enough there is an angry and intransigent political divisiveness among our citizens that threatens the future of our democracy.
And yet, I still find a lot of things to be grateful for on this Thanksgiving.
There are the more traditional things:
My amazing unselfish wife (not that she’s a “thing”) who still says that I’m sexy and thinks I’m funny (though not nearly as funny as I find myself);
My superlative big-hearted kids whom I adore and who, on occasion, even appear to like me (or perhaps that’s just their big-hearted toleration at work);
My parents and step-parents, three of four still fortunately kicking and mentally sharp in their 7th, 8th and 9th decades of life, who struggled at times in that role in my youth but never beat me (even though there were times where this cantankerous redhead probably deserved a lick or two);
My successful and self-reliant siblings – so independent, in fact, that they moved just about as far away from me, and from each other, as possible while still sharing the same country (San Diego, Ca and Arlington, Va are over 2600 miles apart, a mere 40-hour drive without traffic); along with a shout out to my step-siblings; and my fantastic array of nieces and nephews (through bloodline and inherited by marriage) all of whom I admire;
My dogs, current and passed, who are/were among the most consistently loving and decent creatures I have ever met and who’ve never seemed the least bit affected by all the human crises around them;
Major Walter Clopton Wingfield, inventor of the modern game of tennis; which has allowed me to play competitive sports late into life and to stay somewhat in shape without the drudgery of running, biking or swimming, and produced and fostered numerous lifelong friendships; and
Our frontline health care workers who sacrifice so much personally for the greater good of others, providing an awesome example to the rest of us and proving that America still has that chance to be that shining beacon on the hill.
But then there are a few that no doubt will surprise you:
The aging process. Huh? One of the only things that virtually all Americans can agree on these days is that we don’t want to grow old, get sick or die. Or worse, become a disheveled, dependent and mentally discombobulated form of existence.
And yet this aging and even dying thing does wonders for humanity as a whole, if not for us individually. It promotes humility (all of us – rich and poor, black and white and those from both Red and Blue states – will eventually succumb to it). It encourages empathy for our fellow human being (we already seem to be in short supply of this crucial commodity and I’m pretty sure we would run out of it as a Nation were we never to get sick and die). And it ensures change – one or two generations run things for a while and then newer generations get their shot, with new ideas and the benefit of hopefully having learned from our successes and failures, and unencumbered by the presence of elders advising that “that’s not how WE have always done it.” Death and dying, unfortunately, is also the best elixir there is for a lack of appreciation of life and all that we have been given.
Politicians. Really? Ok, well a few of them – the publicly-minded and truly altruistic folks out there who sincerely strive to make a difference in the world and improve our collective lots. This has got to be the worst time in history to be a politician. To get the job in the first place demands incredible stamina, constant fund-raising and a very thick skin. Indeed, what other job application requires that you and your family be subjected to vicious, vindictive and misleading personal ads just because you have the audacity to come from the “other party?” And it’s an extremely difficult job to get because the incumbent almost always wins – they generally have more money, power and influence, and have created a gerrymandered system to assure that people apt not to support them are excluded from their district.
In the event you actually overcome the odds and land the job there is extreme pressure on you (whether Democrat or Republican) to conform your views to the party line, to not think independently or boldly or criticize party leaders, and to not listen to the other side or, worse, compromise on anything. Then there’s the hatred spewing from many of your constituents if your views differ from theirs (there might even be a planned kidnapping if you’re from Michigan!) And there is the lack of congeniality and basic decency among many of the colleagues you work with, making the job even less pleasurable and the task of getting something actually accomplished that much more difficult.
Incumbents and well-financed special interests have managed to produce a political system where most of the folks willing to endure it as an occupation are those who are in it for the wrong reasons. But I know that there are still some politicians out there who truly want to do good and who are trying to serve as best as they can and fighting the good fight despite all these obstacles. And for those folks – whom we desperately need as a nation – I applaud you and I’m grateful for your service.
The weather in the Lou. That’s right, you can take your San Diego weather (sister Tammy and fam there) with your bright sunshine, virtual year-round 70-80 degrees and less than 12 inches of rain per year, and you can take your Southern Florida weather (father Charlie and step-mom Suz) with your swaying palm trees and flat golf course-laden terrain and where the last snowfall that occurred there was … NEVER. Give me, instead, a crisp fall day with spectacular colors, an endless blanket of white from a cascade of snow, an emerging sea of spring flowers and eager wildlife and just a hint of an evening breeze after a 95 degree sweltering day. That’s right – the wonderment of weather diversity!
I will even take the tumultuous Midwestern thunderstorm and occasional tornado that reminds us of the sheer power of the universe and the triviality of us humans and our problems by comparison. If we don’t encounter some challenging weather – bitter cold and extreme heat, rain, snow and hail – we tend to get soft and spoiled and fail to fully appreciate that “perfect” 75 degree day.
This concept has broader lessons for this Thanksgiving Day. While these are difficult times, if we don’t experience some depths of despair we are less apt to make it to the mountaintop and to be as grateful for all we have as we attempt to ascend it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
