Still thankful after all these years ...

Like a Thanksgiving feast of turkey and dressing and all the requisite trimmings, this thankful-for column has been a holiday tradition for me, especially in the 20 years or so in my first go-round as your editor.

For one reason or another, deadline pressure mostly along with fewer editions resulting in less editorial space, I just stopped doing it.

Over the years we have dealt with friends, family and loyal readers, thankful for all things related to health, wealth and more.

It was sometimes touching, sometimes silly, but mostly fun.

It’s been a light-hearted journey as I’ve expressed thanks for white meat turkey leftovers, Miracle Whip and Bunny Bread, for example, or The Goat Man and other furry friends.

We’ve offered up silliness like being thankful for pens that write in the rain, pens that write first time, every time and pens that write upside down.

One year Joanne Robertson (Laurie Hardwick’s late mother) took that as a challenge, taking up a pen collection and presenting me with a box of ballpoints a couple of days later.

Of course, I could never resist listing a few things I wasn’t too thankful for as well each year.

And one year I even tried it in poetic form, as in “disco, Frisco, stale Nabisco.” I still have friends who will quote that list after an occasional mention of disco or Frisco arises.

But of course, this year, undoubtedly my most trying year on this earth, I’ve got a whole lot to be thankful for …

For two caring daughters, Kara and Nicole, who continue to dote on me, now six months after my surgery.

For Putnam County Hospital and Nurse Practitioner Sharon Nicoson, who I believe saved my life by uncovering a 90 percent blockage in the left ventricle (or “Widowmaker”) of my heart at the end of May.

For staff members Jared (and wife Nicole too), Brand, Joey, Nicole and Daryl for going above and beyond in taking up the slack in my absence and still believing in me and my return.

For the staff at Mill Pond Health Campus, especially Sheridan and the two Nancys, who monitored my condition and kept me moving toward going home after three months.

For the gang at Athletico (Greencastle Physical Therapy), especially Leslie and Gloria, who aggressively worked me through 20 rehab sessions, going from wheelchair to walker to cane to my own two feet in the process.

For people like the woman wearing the plastic boot for her own mobility issues who nonetheless helped wheel me out of harm’s way the other afternoon at Walmart when I tried to use one of those wheelchair contraptions with a shopping cart fastened to it (never again). It reminded me of the old “Lone Ranger” episodes and how they ended with “Who was that masked man? I forgot to thank him.” She got away without me learning her name or telling her how grateful I really was in the midst of that pre-Thanksgiving shopping crush.

For old friends like Steve Fields and Mike Van Rensselaer and the Putnam Inn Friday night bunch.

That the Indianapolis Road project is complete and people will have to find something else to complain about.

That it appears civility has returned to local government after a rather tenuous city election.

That the downtown revival has continued and given us several fine options for dining out.

For McDonald’s ice tea and coffee. If the seats were more comfortable, I could live there.

For the return of the Monon Bell to its rightful home, although we lament the loss of retiring DePauw coach Billy Lynch in the aftermath.

In the not-so-thankful-for department this year, we’re sad to see …

The departure of several other DePauw friends, including PR guy and adviser to the president Ken Owen, President Mark McCoy and School of Music scribe Suzanne Hassler.

The loss of Wilbur Kendall, Steve Hendershot and many more fine folks.

And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’ve never been too thankful for whoever made the decision not to put an elevator in the Banner Graphic building, leaving me 32 stairs to navigate to reach my top-floor office.

But most of all I’m thankful for you, our readers, and your continued loyalty, interest and support.

Until then, same time next year.