Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is truly an unique American holiday.  Each year we celebrate this special day by feasting and visiting with friends and family.  But most of all, Thanksgiving is the one day of the year when we should reflect on the good life we have in this marvelous land and give thanks for all we have and all we have become.

We know every year that more Americans travel on the long Thanksgiving weekend than at any other time of year.  But they aren't going away; they're going home.  And this is only fitting.

Thanksgiving began with a voyage of brave and noble people seeking a free life.

Although there are so many myths about the original Thanksgiving, we can be sure of some thing.  We can be sure that the Pilgrims did not celebrate Thanksgiving after completing their voyage.  They certainly gave thanks for the successfully crossing a tempestuous ocean.  But the first real Thanksgiving didn't come until a year later.

That first Thanksgiving was celebrated by a tiny band of survivors who thanked God for allowing them to live through the previous year of travails during which half their company perished, while the survivors scavenged for food and fought that long winter's perilous, numbing cold.

As we sit down to our Thanksgiving dinner this year with family and friends, let's remember those indomitable men and women who persevered, who refused to give up.  Who gave no thought of returning to England on the Mayflower and abandoning their little colony.

Their little colony became the cornerstone of a great Nation.

Let us give thanks for the spirit those inspiring pioneers planted in this land, and for all the bounty we share today.  Let this Thanksgiving remind us of our debt to a heroic past and our duty to build for the generations to come.

Let us also remember the men and women in uniform today serving around the world and offer thanks to them and their families for their sacrifice.

About a half a century ago, two song writers, Robert Allen and Al Stillman, wrote about the year-end holiday.  Although they lumped Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's together, many of us believe their song describes perfectly the family holiday Thanksgiving has become.  They wrote:

Oh, there's no place like home for the holidays
'Cause no matter how far away you roam
When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly face
For the holidays, you can't beat Home, sweet home

I met a man who lives in Tennessee
And he was headin' for Pennsylvania
And some home made pumpkin pie
From Pennsylvania folks a travelin' down
To Dixie's sunny shore
From Atlantic to Pacific, gee
The traffic is terrific

Oh there's no place like home for the holidays,
'Cause no matter how far away you roam
If you want to be happy in a million ways
For the holidays, you can't beat home, sweet home

 

I hope that you will be happy in a million ways and that you'll be home for the holidays – in your memories and prayers if nothing else.

I wish all of you a safe and happy Thanksgiving