Anyone who has been following this site over the past few months knows that this has been one hell of a year for The Great White Shank and our household and family. But there are a lot of things to be thankful for. I hope everyone out there will take some quiet time amidst the frantic pace of this kick-off to the holiday season to count the many blessings we all share.

Me?

First and foremost, I’m thankful for my health and physical and mental well-being. They say, ‘health is wealth’, and I’ve learned this year that nothing is truer. I used to think the line between health and sickness, and sanity and insanity was a pretty fine one. Now I know that it’s T H I S W I D E. Sure, we all have our moments of so-called ‘madness’, but that’s just the normal human bullshit we all carry around inside of us. When you go physically and clinically over the edge, it ain’t pretty, and the cost can be devastating, not just for the families involved, but for our society as well.

…I’m thankful every morning I can get up and go to the bathroom on my own, without anyone to assist me.

…I’m thankful for the freedoms this country provides me in terms of freedom of speech, movement, the ability to earn wages, and worship the God of my choice. At least until President Obama and the Democrats take it all away from both me and you in 2010.

…I’m grateful for surf music – many times a classic surf song or sound coming off the MP3 player has kept me from reaching for the big knife on the pantry shelf. Ditto The Beach Boys and The Beatles.

…I’m grateful for my parents, and the love, care, and support they provided me both growing up and to this day.

…I’m grateful to have been born and raised in the era I was brought up in. I’m 54 and wouldn’t trade my age for anything. I feel bad for the young people of today who, by and large, know nothing about taste, class, and appreciation. This over-sexed, over-consumed, and overly narcissistic society and culture truly makes me sick to my stomach at times.

…I’m grateful for all my Goodboys friends, my non-Goodboy friends, and my wife Tracey. Sure, I’m surrounded by idiots, but damn it, they’re my idiots. And I’m damned glad to say I’m proud to be one of theirs.

…I’m grateful for clean water and the abundance of food you can find anytime, any day in any supermarket down the street. How many people on this earth can say the same?

…I’m grateful for those who support Project Harambee and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. They’re my two favorite charities, and I encourage everyone, if you can find it in your heart, to drop them (or those charities you support) a donation during this holiday season.

…I’m grateful to the Roman Catholic Church, who has offered me a home where I can worship God and our Lord Jesus Christ, confident that the teachings and traditions they exemplify haven’t changed in over 2000 years. To that end, this is worth checking out and signing if you agree. I have.

…I’m NOT grateful for the false religion of diversity, multiculturalism and acceptance, and those who use it as a weapon to bash the Church of Jesus Christ. It’s all the work of Satan using athiests to undermine and destroy the Church and the Good News of Jesus Christ risen from the dead. Without the hope of eternal life, one has nothing. And that’s what these people are all about, destroying hope under the false guise of making people feel good about the destructive life choices they make.

…And while I’m at it, I’m not grateful for the New York Yankees, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, the Democrats in the U.S. Congress and Senate, and the mainstream dino-media (i.e., NY Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, L.A. Times, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN – you know, that cable network that no one would ever watch if it wasn’t on every airport monitor, USA Today, Time, Newsweek, etc.).

Well, OK, the Yankees are fine, they deserved their World Series championship. 🙂 But the others are trying to destroy this country and people out there better wake up before they actually get around to doing it.

But enough negativity.

For everyone who frequents this blog, no matter what your political, religious, and cultural stripe, my most sincere hope and prayer for a happy and blessed Thanksgiving and holiday season to you and yours. We’ve almost made it to the end of the first decade of the Third Millennium, let’s try to keep it that way.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from The Great White Shank and all of Goodboys Nation.

UPDATE: 10 AM: How foolish of me to omit three other things I’m thankful for this day:

1. Our men and women serving our nation in the armed forces in various places across the globe and the sacrifices of their families who long for their presence around the Thanksgiving table. The good folks at Fort Hood are on my mind this day, as it must be a very difficult one for the survivors of the massacre there.

2 & 3. The fact that both Tracey and I have a roof over our heads and jobs – I know all to well the latter, I was called at 6 AM this morning by one of my clients! I still remember seeing all the homeless people living in cardboard boxes under the I-75 overpass in St. Petersberg while looking for my sister-in-law. It’s so easy to take these kinds of things for granted.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving to all!