Opinion

Still thankful after all these years

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Far too often ours is a quite thankless job, to be sure, but this time of year we get to turn the tables and give thanks in an annual tradition started back when I was kid-less, redheaded and had two good knees.

To us, it's like turkey, stuffing, spiral ham, sweet potatoes, corn casserole, pecan pie and a generous helping of football all rolled into one.

And just like those delectable delicacies, we know we love it all, but by the time we've gorged ourselves with it, it's more like miserable mistake than mystique.

Regardless, today we offer up a little something for you all to gorge yourselves with prior to Thursday's main event ...

So, before that old tricky turkey tryptophan starts kicking in, let's get going ...

We're thankful we live in a place where one minute we're rubbing elbows with Jane Goodall, Ron Paul and Brett Baier, and the next moment we're writing a story about the rooster-crowing contest at the fair.

Thankful to be on a first-name basis with most of the cops, our judges and the prosecutor -- but more than a little worried that we're on the local funeral director's Christmas card list.

Thankful for the covered bridges we have and the round-abouts we don't.

Thankful we have residents who care not only about those buried at cemeteries like Forest Hill but about the history and notoriety of monuments within their midst.

Thankful physical therapy on my rotator cuff is done but sad to mark the end to any possible career as a lefty relief specialist.

Thankful for Trivia Night Mondays at BW3's and Open Mic Night Thursdays at The Swizzle Stick.

Thankful for Jazz at The Duck, Gail Smith's Greencastle Music Festival, the Crown Street Music Fest and the annual DePauw Holiday Gala.

Thankful folks like Jack Gibson, Steve St. Pierre, Sandy Williams, Steve Michael, Tad Robinson, Jonathan January and Joel and Tosh Everson, are happy to share their musical talents with us on an-almost weekly basis.

Thankful for talented, dedicated people who make the Putnam County Playhouse a uniquely interesting and entertaining place to go every summer.

Thankful for events like the Sammy Terry Show at Robe-Ann Park, Fourth of July fireworks and the weekly Farmers Market on the square.

Thankful for delicacies like barbecue pizza at Pizza King, GCBs at Marvin's, any grub at Putnam Inn, Charlie's, Chief's, The Duck, Mama's or Almost Home, but sadly still longing for those tasty breakfasts at The Monon (although Jackson's and The Fairway come close).

Thankful for the gang I break bread with every Friday night at the PI -- Pat and Sue, Mark and Carolyn, Stephanie and Mike, Ken and Joyce and Mitch and Deb. And ever so thankful Rhonda Brotherton and her crew continue to put up with us.

Thankful somebody named a sandwich after me at the Downtown Café and that "The Bernsee" isn't just full of baloney. (Believe me though, I never get tired of hearing nice-looking ladies order by saying, "I'll have The Bernsee").

Thankful for Tigers, Tiger Cubs, Clovers, Cougars and Eagles in any order you choose.

Thankful for quality DePauw coaches like Kris Huffman, Bill Fenlon (good karma, man) and the return of Bill Lynch, while still thankful Nick Mourouzis remains a legend in our midst.

Thankful that we live in a place that still seems insulated from most of horrors in our world but still humanitarian enough to care.

Thankful my daughters are married to great guys and still come visit whenever they can.

Thankful for a very precocious five-year-old granddaughter, even if she insists on calling me "Pa."

Thankful for working days and nights and weekends alongside Jared and Grant, Lauren and Joyce, Daryl and Chris and others too many to mention.

Ever so thankful for our many faithful readers, conscious critics, caring co-workers and anyone else hammering out an existence in these trying times.

Please now, go and stuff yourselves. You've earned it.

So pass the pecan pie and full speed ahead to another happy Thanksgiving.