WLKM Radio 95.9 FM
Welcome to Thanksgiving week. The day after tomorrow, everyone should take a few minutes to sit back and reflect on the many things that they should be thankful for. This should be done prior to sitting down and stuffing yourself with too much food, then assuming a prone position on the couch and watching your favorite football team lose.
A nice tradition that I feel is worth the effort is to announce several things that you are thankful for this year. I’ll start out with three of mine:
1) I’m thankful for my wife and family. I’m way too spoiled and I’ll be the first to admit it.
2) I’m thankful for my retirement. I don’t have time to work anymore.
3) I’m thankful for the many memories that I have and for those who have helped me make them.
Another tradition that has nothing to do with Thanksgiving is the “Family Sunday Afternoon Drive”. Back in the day, families used to take an hour or two, usually on a Sunday afternoon, and pile into the family car and go for a ride in the country. They didn’t know it then, but this was really quality time. The family unit was different back then. Families sat down and ate together, played together, and got along with each other. Going for a ride in the country was just a normal thing. One might say that the price of gasoline was only thirty cents a gallon back then. That would be a true statement, but the annual earnings were also much lower than they are today, so you’d have to say that everything is relative.
I enjoy driving, and I have been driving for over fifty years. I still enjoy the experience, but I have slowed down considerably. I’ve found myself becoming more like my father as he aged. My patience is slowly fading away, and my level of “Road Rage” is increasing. This is not good. Every time I see some driver using their cell phone while driving, my blood pressure goes up. Every time someone passes me on an expressway, then exits immediately, my blood pressure goes up. My dad had some road rage back when road rage didn’t exist. Perhaps the fast pace of life has something to do with this. No matter what the price of gas might be, I think we should all get Out and About and go for a ride in the country with the family. You’d be surprised how much better you’ll feel upon your return. Just stay out of my way when you leave the city limits.
Here’s a fact that many folks didn’t know. This Thursday, November 28 is not only Thanksgiving, but it is also the first day of Hanukkah. The last time this happened was in 1888, and it won’t happen again for another 77,798 years. For those of you who are unaware, Hanukkah is the first full day of the Jewish Festival of Lights, which begins at sundown on Thanksgiving Eve.
As you travel along the pathway of life, here are five things you’ll never be able to recover:
A stone after it’s been thrown.’
A word after it’s been said.
Time after it’s gone.
Trust after it’s lost.
An occasion after it’s missed.
This past Friday was the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Like many of you, I remember what I was doing at the time I learned of the shooting. I’d like to share a quote from JFK, that makes a lot of sense to me. He said, “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” I often wonder how history might have changed, had he not been assassinated.
In honor of Thanksgiving, here’s a Native American saying: “Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.”
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and a joyous Hanukkah!
See you Out and About!
Submitted by Norm Stutesman
