Things I'm thankful for...

I'm thankful for my family, and particularly for my nieces - a source of hope and optimism in a worrisome world.

I'm thankful for my friends, both in Seattle and around the world. Bulwarks in time of need, a comfort in times of stress, and a constant source of joy.

I'm thankful that, for the moment, I still live in a nation where we may speak our minds, publish our thoughts, and access the worlds greatest conversation - the internet - without fear of retribution or harassment from our government.

I'm thankful for those court decisions in the last two years that have expanded the Second Amendment rights of private individuals, as I believe it both a bulwark against the depredations of the criminally frisky and a deterrent to overenthusiastic governance.

I'm grateful for my co-workers, and that I am employed in this Great Recession (oh, let's be honest...it's a depression! Don't ya feel better for being up front about it?) . I pray I can say the same in a years time.

I'm grateful that I have a place to live, and opportunities to be of service to those I care about, of my own free will.

I'm grateful to the service men and women past and present around the world who have gone and continue to go in harms way to preserve our liberties, our constitution, and our nation. Similarly, my thanks go to our domestic protectors - honorable fire, police, and emergency services folks going in harms way that we might not, and striving to protect our dignity and rights as they do so under the most trying of circumstances. My prayers, such as they are, are with them all.

And finally, as we wake and feast on this Thanksgiving Day, I am grateful that I've had time to get old enough to be somewhat less dim and dizzy than I was in the past. I still make errors, small and large - for such is life - but I'm thankful that they are fewer and smaller than they once might have been, and the number of required apologies is significantly reduced...a trend I hope continues as the years pass.

God (or your very own preferred deity) bless you one and all, and may your feast be satisfying and you be surrounded by those you love - whether of the family you were born to or of the family you chose to gather.

GC