Happy Thanksgiving!

What am I thankful for?  What about you?  When I look around today I see a plethra of folks that don't give a rip about society.  I see the masses devouring lives as if they were nothing.  A non entity.  A homeless man yelled out to the cars in the drive thru where I also sat, waiting for my turn.  Hey, anyone have a dollar?  I turned away.  Not becuase of the money but because I get annoyed.  Hmmm.  As I drove around the building I was saddened by that.  Annoyed at someone that needed something to eat?  Really?
Or did HE really?  Case in point; someone I know lived off of panhandling for months.   Gave me the inside scoup on how they work the system.  He said in a few hours he could accumulate more than if he worked for several days 8 hrs a day.  that is your money and mine.  And that is something I struggle with.  If i hand you MY hard earned money what YOU do with it is non of my business.  What IS MY business is do I give it or not?  Choosing not does not make us/me/you a bad person.  I suppose my gratitude is that I am not homeless.  Far from it.  But I do not look down on those that are.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  my 8th alone.  On the 27th (next week) rj and I would be celebrating 21 years of marriage.  Now, I can dwell on the negative, poor me side or smile and say, thank you God for rewriting the end of that misery.  Now moving on is a whole different story.

Thanksgiving.  When I was a kid I loved the holidays.  As screwed up as my family was I knew that during that time it just seemed everyone was happy, if only for  a minute.  I have mentioned this before but for a few years we would go to my aunt and uncle's house to eat.  Afterwards we would rush to their basement and watch March of the Wooden Soldiers.  A laurel and hardy escapade.  But I loved it.  I loved the atmosphere.  That of which i remember.  My parents had already separated so I'm sure my mother was still reeling from that pain.  My grandparents would come too.  So it was a houseful of kids and adults.  And this may freak my cousin out but I still remember they had a yellow lab named Timmy and a black cat named Cricket.  Funny the stuff we remember, huh. 

So for those few short years those were my favorite times. 

For those without families or those with families that are disconnected, for those folks without a home or money for food, moms without husbands, children without clothes... you get the picture, right?  Treasure what you have, give to those that don't.  A smile goes a long way but won't feed a hungry child. 

Stop and give thanks for what we/me have but look beyond and give of yourself.

Happy Thanksgiving

Jj