HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!

No leaves are left on my trees,

Signals of winter coming are clear,

From the North comes a cold breeze,

Tis hunting season, neighbor shot a deer,

Dark clouds say the ground will soon freeze,

Thanks are definitely in order so I give them here:

I am thankful for and delighted with the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic somewhere behind the morning. The gift of life is precious and I am thankful for it. The gift of being a part of a large, loving family is the best gift of all. There are so many things to be thankful for that it is impossible to list them all. So, I shall simply say, “THANKS!”

O. Henry said, "There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is purely American"

HOW IS YOUR VOCABULARY?

Mine is brobdingnagian but I suffer from lethologica. This does not discourage me from engaging in adoxography. I have been accused of being a philosophunculist as well as an inaniloquent person. However, the people who say these things usually get the dactylion from me. The lady next door is a callipygean and my friend in Pennsylvania is a gambrinous fellow who is usually capernoited. I am guilty of alphamegamia and anopisthography but strikhedonia helps me to cope. My wife is a hopeless cruciverbalist but I love her anyway. I hope that my witzelsucht does not vex you.

Thanksgiving is coming and we will soon be guilty of abligurition and cleptobiosis. We will be in a happy farctate with borborygmus. I plan on being a ventipotent, pyknic celebrant. If you knew the meaning of all the words used in this blog, you have won a worthless prize equal in value to Obama’s Noble Peace Prize. Congratulations!

“By words the mind is winged”! _Aristophanes  

THE OLYMPICS OF FIREFIGHTING

I just returned from Myrtle Beach, SC. where this year’s Firefighter Combat Challenge, World Championship was held. I was there to cheer for the 5-man relay team from the Fire Department at Artesia, NM. They are a small team from a small town in the New Mexico desert. At the regional competition, they were a surprise qualifier for the final World Championship. They were the first team from Artesia to ever qualify for the “Olympics Of Firefighting”. The team members are: Jeffrey Bishop, Toby Bratcher, Alfredo Garcia, Kyle Luginbyhl, and Marcus Teets. The competitors race against the clock as they simulate real-life firefighting by performing five tasks including climbing a 5 story tower, hoisting fire hoses, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-sized, 175 lb dummy. They did not win the championship but they had a new personal best time and they beat a lot of other teams.

After watching the competition, I have new respect for firemen. The physical demands of their profession are extraordinary. Their desire to save lives and property are commendable. They are heroes with strong bodies and trained minds who are ready to save you. Besides all of that, they are very nice people. I am proud to be the father of a firefighter. It is nice to know that there are people in this world who are trying to help others!

ANOTHER AMERICAN REVOLUTION

No shots were fired, no heads were cut off, and nothing was blown up. Unlike most of the rest of the countries in the world, we can have a peaceful change in political power without death and destruction. That is the wonderful thing about our great democratic republic. The people rule through the process of voting. Yes, I know that the people do not always figure out the best way to proceed, but after trial and error and the effect of the pendulum syndrome, we have been able to build and maintain the best and the most powerful nation in the history of the world. I feel thankful and fortunate to be a part of it. My vote did count!

The Rent’s Too High Party, the Third Finger Party, the Taxed Enough Party, The Arrogant Bastard’s Party, and all the other quirky Parties of America had their say and now it is time to change direction and try to do better. I am sure that something good will happen; I hope!