Just a morning wish to all my friends, family, and whoever to have a safe and happy Thanksgiving day today. Yes I know Thanksgiving has a checkered past, but it's important to recognize the things you are grateful for every now and then…
- I'm grateful to my Mom for giving me the drive to never give up and stick to my beliefs.
- I'm grateful to my Dad for teaching me about the wonders of the world around me and instilling in me a profound curiousity.
- I'm grateful to my sister Donna for keeping me out of trouble, for telling on me when it was necessary, and for not telling on me when it was not.
- I'm grateful to my lovely wife Patty for her guidance and support and endless love.
- I'm grateful to my incredible little wonder Lynnea for filling my heart with joy.
- I'm grateful to my wife's family (Chuck and Joyce, Barbara and Brian, Krissy and Mike, and of course Scott) for putting up with my eccentricities at family gatherings and lovingly accepting me for the curmudgeon I am.
- I'm grateful to my friend Tom for always being there for me when I was a kid, and for liking me no matter how unpopular I was.
- I'm grateful to my good friend James for years of quality friendship, I couldn't ask for more from a friend.
- I'm grateful to my friend Margaret for her wise counsel, and most of all for her marrying James and being such a positive force in his life.
- I'm grateful to my buddy Brian, for encouraging my creativity, for being a man of great integrity, for respecting me for who I am.
- I'm grateful to my friend Lynnea for marrying Brian, and helping to keep him from stress and worry.
- I'm grateful to my friends Jay, Matt, Pat, Bob, Patti, Sarah for being a fun bunch, and most of all for hanging out with me and making me happy when we get together.
- I'm grateful to my brother in law for being a good husband to my sister.
- I'm grateful to all my nieces and nephews–Natalie, Jared, Corey, Samantha, Christopher, Tayla, Tyler, Troy, Breanna, and Sean for being great kids who I'm always happy to see.
To anyone who I left out in my hurry to write this: I'll thank you to not be offended. 
“I'm grateful to my friend Tom for always being there for me when I was a kid, and for liking me no matter how unpopular I was.”
Right back at you buddy! We've been friends for a LONG time, sheesh, it's hard to believe how long we've known one another, over 30 years now! You've been a great friend all those years, no matter what we went through together as kids. Sure, we had a couple battles over the years, and we needed to stick together in middle school since we didn't have a lot of other friends, but we always had fun, always. (Remember playing spy in front of the Whitman Town Hall?).
Although we've drifted apart some in recent years, I think of you often, and always get a chuckle when I'm driving and recall a memory of D&D, pudding on the ceiling, broken walls and windows, and endless hours stuffing our faces and walking around town together. Happy Thanksgiving pal.
Tom
Hey, I hope your day was great. Lousy weather, but a good day for stuffing (both the noun and the verb).
I'm thankful that you've stuck with blogging and that you do a “Guess That Movie” so that I can exercise my own visual movie geek skilz.