My Thankful List

God for directing my path

      

Family—without you I have nothing

Friends—thank you for accepting me as the doofus I am

My car eventually needs about $1000-$1200 of repairs but it still runs. Woohoo!

The election is over! Ding dong the campaign is dead!

Music—without it I would go insane

Books—without them I would go insaner

Pizza—the basis of my food pyramid

My new job—health insurance, vacation and paid holidays—friends I haven’t seen in a long time

The night sky—a thing of beauty on a clear evening

Dogs and cats—I don’t have one of my own at the moment but they are amazing animals

Movies and TV shows that make me laugh—Monty Python, MST3K, Hogan’s Heroes, The Big Bang Theory, Galaxy Quest, Office Space, The Office, The Kids in the Hall, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Craig Ferguson, NewsRadio, Looney Tunes, Rocky and Bullwinkle,  The Daily Show, etc.

Stauffer’s Milk Chocolate Star cookies (my box is almost empty)

Baby Back Ribs (droooooool)

decent health since I really don’t take good care of myself

a good dentist who is helping me fix my bad teeth

good landlords who haven’t raised my rent once since I’ve lived on their property

a day off from work

people who will voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way for someone they don’t even know (police, firemen, military, etc.)

I live in a free country

There are many more but that’s good for now. Happy Thanksgiving.

A Thanksgiving Day Tale

There once was a turkey named Larry who lived in a small wood next to a hunting shack. The shack was owned by a very bad hunter named Earl. For ten years Earl had been trying to shoot Larry to eat him for Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, for the last ten Thanksgivings, Earl ate General Tso’s chicken and beef dumplings from Mr. Sing’s House of Chinese Delicacies and Non-Denominational Wedding Chapel. Also two years ago he married 3^rd shift waitress Darlene Lumpholz in a ceremony presided over by Mr. Sing and witnessed by long haul trucker Darryl “Dirty Deeds” Hufnagel. They were divorced 6 days later.

Larry the turkey was worried this year. He was getting older and although he was smarter than Earl, Larry was afraid he would get caught. He had decided that it was time to make peace with his nemesis. He went to Earl’s door and was invited in where the two combatants shared in a feast of Frosted Mini-Wheats while Earl relayed the dream he had had the night before where he won the lottery, ran off with Katie Couric and then drove in the 24 hours of Lemans in a soap box derby car.

They spent hours discussing their differences like how much Earl wanted to eat Larry and how much Larry really did not want to be eaten. What they found in the end is that they were very much alike. They commiserated over stories of their domineering fathers. Earl’s wanted him to go into the family business of lard production while Larry’s repeatedly told him he was a bad gobbler and wouldn’t live past 6 months in the forest on his own. After a few ribald jokes and shots of . . . wait for it . . . Wild Turkey, Earl and Larry were friends. As offerings that signified their new trust, Larry gave Earl one of his tail feathers and Earl gave Larry his Dale Earnhardt commemorative flashlight.

Brimming with renewed hope and confidence Earl reconnected with Darlene at the Thanksgiving evening buffet at Mr. Sing’s and they were re-married with Darryl “Dirty Deeds” Hufnagel once again looking on and toasting them with a tall boy of Schlitz.

Happy Thanksgiving.