Thanks a Bunch

 

Tis the time for giving thanks. Before the tryptophan kicks in and you saw logs with Morpheus.

Over the river and through the woods, but not to grandmother’s house I go. Don’t have one. Not gonna have a turkey, either. But I’ll drive over the Navarro River and through the magnificent redwoods, singing along with Arlo Guthrie’s "Alice’s Restaurant" on the CD player.

I’ll be heading to Mendocino, that wonderful hamlet up the coast a few hours north of San Francisco. There I’ll grab a bite to eat and with my camera ‘round my neck, go walking the marvelous bluffs that rise above the Pacific. Afterwards, a ride down the Pacific Coast Highway, offering one of the most extraordinary vistas on our Dear Blue Planet. Good reasons for giving thanks.

Most people have a reason or several for giving thanks, though some probably don’t know it. For example, the San Diego city councilwoman and surf shop owner, Donna Frye, who won the mayoralty earlier this month but a judge ruled she didn’t. She was the upset winner with a write-in campaign, except he ruled that voters not only had to write in her name but also black out a little oval denoting that they were writing in their choice. Ms. Frye should be grateful because the guy who won is going to have to deal with huge scandals and a crippling fiscal mess.

Similarly, John Kerry should give thanks for not having to face Iraq, a soaring budget deficit and an increasingly -- albeit late to the party -- skeptical public.

Two little girls in Baltimore should also be giving thanks. Their mother was keeping them in a public storage unit for 20 hours a day. No more.

Three UN aid workers in Afghanistan and their families -- even though they aren’t Americans -- should be giving thanks, after they were freed by their kidnappers after four weeks of captivity.

Indeed, much for which to be thankful on this uniquely American holiday.

And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.

 

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