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Tuesday, November 26, 2013

THANKFUL THINGS

In celebration of Thanksgiving, my classes spent part of today listing things they are grateful for in their lives.  Since “what is good for the goose is good for the gander” I decided to share a few of my ‘thankfuls.’  I will try to avoid cliché items and focus on some that I really find appropriate for my situation.  Let’s hope I don’t get too corny or so carried away that I lose the true spirit of the project.

Here goes!!!

1.   Peanut Butter – one of the great contributions to life from George Washington Carver.  Thank you GWC because now, when I get hungry and there’s nothing easy to eat, I can find bread and slather on PB (with a little J) and survive another day.

2.  Rubber – thanks to Goodrich or Goodyear, or whomever found a practical way to make rubber for personal use.  How else would I have anything to flip at students when I get frustrated or crazy?

3.  Ball Point Pens (which eventually became other methods of writing) – imagine having to use inkwells and pointy sticks to write out a check or put down the things we have in journals.  Not a happy thought.  (But then again, I don't do much writing with a pen because I have this cute little computer thingy -- oh well, I still am thankful for pens)

4.  Solar Watches – it was always frustrating to have to wind or replace a battery in my watch --- so much so that I often forgot.  Now, with a watch that runs using the power of the sun, I can blissfully go through many years (about 18 right now) and not worry one bit about powering or winding my little time friend.

5.  Science Fiction – this world is wonderful but it is so much fun to speculate on what ‘might be’ if we had some fantastic scientific knowledge or could cross current limits.  I cut my SF teeth on Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov and never looked back.  Most of what I know about physics, geometry, astronomy, history and a myriad other topics comes from science fiction stories and books.

6.  Scriptures – as a young man I never considered that this would become important but the older I get, the more I know I need the guidance available in these sacred books.  I love God and His Son and want to know all about Them and Their work.  These books offer the ability to understand, in a small way, who and what They are and what They have in store for us (You know I had to have at least one serious/normal thing in my list).

7.  The Best Wife in the World  (no battle) – anyone who can be faithful to a man like me for nearly 37 years has to be anointed for sainthood in any religion on the earth.  The fact that she doesn't run screaming from the house when I return each day is a testament to the tolerance and love she has for the “weak things of the world.”

8.  Scuba Diving – how else can you have an experience that results in the following statement as you sit on the bottom of the ocean------ I should be dead right now!!!  It is so much fun and such a rush – if only it didn't cost so much!!

9.  Great Music – while there are many interpretation of this phrase, I have found that it can appear in just about any venue.  Classical, Rock, Country, Religious, Reggae, Big Band, even Rap have songs and arrangements that can touch the heart and change the soul.  I love music.

10.        Children – I love being around young people of all types.  Probably why I chose the profession I now practice.  These are God’s greatest creations and will be the ones who prepare for whatever future this earth may have.  I have great faith in them and know that they will protect and preserve the goodness that comes to us all from God.  I especially love and honor those who have been sent to our little family.  These are the hopes of my future and the future of all that is dear to me.


OK, there were a couple that drifted to seriousness but I think I can be forgiven for that.  I have lots more that I thank Heavenly Father for every day but these are some of my favorites.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and may you find joy in being with those you love most.

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