When it comes to our unique holiday of
Thanksgiving, I think we all can see past the turkey and trimmings
to what it’s all about. Oh, there are some historians who will tell
us the Pilgrims really didn’t share a meal with the Indians, and
that’s okay, because they got grant money to tell us that. And there
are other historians who tell us that the Pilgrims and the Indians
were pals and split the turkey and dressing. And that’s okay, too.
Historians have to eat just like the rest of us.
But to me, that’s immaterial. No matter who came up with the idea,
it’s a good idea. At least once a year we need to pause and give
thanks in our own way for our blessings.
Of course, those of us who don’t live in the big cities tend to be
thankful for different things than those who may live in stuccoed
cliff dwellings. We tend to look at the natural blessings more than
the manmade ones. We tend to be grateful for the simpler things,
like calves in the spring, and how clean they look before they
discover mud.
Folks in Home Country are deeply grateful that tasty rabbits arrive
in large litters, and bears don’t. When we think about it, we are
thankful that we get eggs from hens and not from rattlesnakes, as
checking the rattler house each morning could get ‘way too exciting.
When you consider that porcupines have quills, and deer don’t, it
gives us pause for praise, and we’re happy that it’s skunks who
carry scent glands and not dairy cattle. We
are thankful, too, that hurricanes and tornadoes only happen in warm
weather. It’s bad enough to lose the barn without being
chill-factored to death while it’s happening. [to top of second
column] |
Down at the Mule Barn truck
stop, Dud said he was thankful turkeys were stupid. When asked why,
he said, “Ever look in a turkey’s eyes? Not only is no one home, but
someone shut off the lights somewhere back in the Middle Ages. A
turkey has just enough brains to operate his heart and lungs.”
And you’re thankful for that? We asked.
And Dud said “Sure. If turkeys had been given the rudimentary
intelligence of an empty clarinet case, we might be forced to eat
sheep on Thanksgiving.”
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]
Ol' Jimmy Dollar
is Slim Randles' first children's book. The book is for kids
K-3rd grades and is even better when parents read it with children.
Ol' Jimmy Dollar makes for sweet dreams and if you have a dog
even better. Available now on Amazon.
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