IN these troubled , turbulent times, when the economy is tanking,r foreclosures are rampant, and even the government is laying people off, thee are still things to be thankful about. Many of us ddo not have an"attitude of gratitude" and do Not accentuate the positive. My wife ( with apologies to Spiro Agnew) calls mea "nattering nabob of negativity" (Only kidding honey).
But there are many things for which I am thankful: My wife, and my family are healthy (although people have been questioning my mental health for years.).I'm thankful for my friends. I'm thankful that my business is surviving there are many lawyers who have closed their doors or been fired. Also there are lawyers on welfare.
I'm thankful that I live in the USA, a government of laws not men. I'm thankful that we still have the right against self incrimination (they have abolished it in the UK) I'm thankful for my right to vote I'm thankful that there is no more draft (and I'm past draft age anyway) .I'm thankful that this country is not a party to armed rebellion every time we change Presidents. But almost 150 years ago, there was a civil war that threatened to permanently divide the country
In 1864, in response to a request from Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew asking him to express his condolences, President Lincoln wrote to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, a widow who was believed to have lost five sons during the Civil War. Lincoln's letter was later printed in the Boston Evening Transcript. Later still, it was revealed that two, not all five, of Mrs. Bixby's sons died in battle; one deserted, one was honorably discharged, and another either deserted or died a prisoner of war.
The authorship of the letter has been debated by scholars, some of whom believe it was written by John Hay, one of Lincoln's secretaries. The original of the letter was destroyed by Mrs. Bixby, who was a Confederate sympathizer and disliked Lincoln. Copies of an early forgery circulated for years, causing many people to believe that they had the original letter.
None of which matters. The letter is one of the finest pieces of prose ever written and if Lincoln didn't write it, he meant to. It serves to remind us that the highest function of political leadership in America's democracy is to inspire us with a regard for those principles that set this country apart.(these days it is all too easy to forget.)
"Dear Madam,
"I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom..
"Yours very sincerely and respectfully
,"A. Lincoln"
So lets all be thankful that we haven't lost any of our loved ones (For those who have, you have my condolences) Here is a poem to brighten your day
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TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING,
BUT I JUST COULDN'T SLEEP.
I TRIED COUNTING BACKWARDS,
I TRIED COUNTING SHEEP.
THE LEFTOVERS BECKONED -
THE DARK MEAT AND WHITE,
BUT I FOUGHT THE TEMPTATION
WITH ALL OF MY MIGHT.
TOSSING AND TURNING WITH ANTICIPATION,
THE THOUGHT OF A SNACK BECAME INFATUATION.
SO, I RACED TO THE KITCHEN, FLUNG OPEN THE DOOR,
AND GAZED AT THE FRIDGE, FULL OF GOODIES GALORE.
GOBBLED UP TURKEY AND BUTTERED POTATOES, PICKLES AND CARROTS, BEANS AND TOMATOES
I FELT MYSELF SWELLING SO PLUMP AND SO ROUND,
'TIL ALL OF A SUDDEN, I ROSE OFF THE GROUND.
I CRASHED THROUGH THE CEILING, FLOATING INTO THE SKY,
WITH A MOUTHFUL OF PUDDING AND A HANDFUL OF PIE.
BUT, I MANAGED TO YELL AS I SOARED PAST THE TREES....
HAPPY EATING TO ALL - PASS THE CRANBERRIES, PLEASE.
MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY,
MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP.
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS.
MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS!!
I'm thankful that my Patriots are playing on Thanksgiving. Go Pats! Finally, I'm thankful that I have the privilege of writing my weekly articles in this newspaper without fear of censorship.
So have a happy Mace
