Thankful for A Whole Lot of Things

By Arthur Vidro
ON CONSUMERISM
“I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.”

That’s an ancient proverb that’s been attributed to many people. I heard it once, 35 years ago, from Diana S., a newspaper colleague and the greatest editor I’ve encountered.

Not sure why it’s stuck with me. But it reminds us to be thankful for what we do have.

Maybe that’s why Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It does not involve religion. In my family, which covers a broad spectrum of religions and degrees of religiosity, it is the only holiday celebrated by everyone.

Plus, I applaud the purpose behind the holiday – to be thankful.

Those early pilgrims were thankful just to avoid starvation. There was food to eat. Each year they would be thankful, among other things, for a satisfactory harvesting of crops.

I think we should all be thankful for supermarkets, freeing us from not having to rely on a single local harvest to stay alive. Food is never more than a short trip away.

Many folks are thankful for what they have. But plenty of folks are always grumbling about what they don’t have.

I suggest we each step back and think about what we are thankful for.

Me, I’ve compiled a list. Each person’s list will, of course, differ but everybody should be able to compile a list of what they are thankful for.

I’m thankful for libraries, and inter-library loan for those harder-to-find books. I’m thankful for bookstores. I’m thankful for unabridged dictionaries.

I’m thankful for being able to read, write, walk, and think.

Even though I’ve never been a client, I’m thankful my home town has a soup kitchen to help feed its undernourished.

I’m thankful for the restaurants that do not have televisions playing.

I’m thankful that a few pedestrians still do not bury their faces in hand-held devices.

I’m thankful for having a home. In my case, I’m extra-thankful for having a peaceful, quiet home.

I’m thankful for all those years of returning to the house and getting greeted deliriously by our dogs (after which the peace and quiet would return).

Though I wish it were longer, I’m thankful for the more than 15 years we had with out little dog Queenie.

Though I wish it were longer, I’m thankful for the more than 14 years we had with out little dog Ngaio.

I’m thankful for paper to write on, and typewriters (which I still use for personal correspondence).

I’m thankful for coffee to sip, and for newspapers published with real ink and paper.

Even if you don’t love your job, you should be thankful you have a job. In my case, as a non-salaried worker, I’m thankful I have a couple of good clients.

My mother, in every conversation we have, complains “I can’t walk anymore.” Actually, she can walk, but it’s gotten rather difficult. Now it takes conscious effort plus use of a cane. (A walker would be better, but she refuses to use one.)

Her sister, who is closing in on 100, truly can’t walk anymore. The sister spends her life in her bed, occasionally being lifted out and plopped into a wheelchair.

If we like our family, we should be thankful for them.

Though their service could improve, I’m thankful for the postal systems here and elsewhere in the world.

Earlier this autumn I lost the use of one of my five senses. However, I still have the other four senses, and for those I am thankful.

Most of all I’m thankful for my spouse. Without each other, we’d both be in a heap of trouble trying to navigate the ways of the world.

Each of us should take a moment Thursday to give our thanks to whatever and whoever is appropriate.