APPRECIATION

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 401

Thanksgiving is one of the best days of the year for me, because it is (or is supposed to be) a day of appreciation. And each one of us has much to be thankful for and appreciative of. Just think of it this way: by the time that most people in the history of the world were my age they had been dead for 40 years. And I anticipate that everyone reading this column has a better life than King Henry VIII did. He lived in a drafty palace, when traveling he bounced around in his coach due to all the bumps in the roads, and he had undiagnosed gout which affected his life and his temperament. Henry was also in a jousting accident in which his horse fell on him causing head trauma and other severe injuries – and there was no modern medicine to treat him. (And who needs six wives anyway. . .) He died at the age of 55.

On the other hand, most of us live comfortably with heating, air conditioning, refrigerators, healthy foods, cars and good medical attention. And we have the ability to get an education. My wife and I took several fun and interesting trips last year, which Henry VIII could only dream about. How about you? How are you and your family members doing? Do you give and get hugs often from your family and friends? (The older we get the more friends become family.) Are you able to be stimulated, get exercise, travel, share time with special people and enjoy your life? We should be appreciative every day, but most especially on Thanksgiving! So please enjoy the day and share these thoughts with others!

Have you heard? The King of Spain has been quarantined on his private jet. So that means that the “Reign in Spain stays mainly on the plane.” (You have to be an oldster like me to know that this “quote” comes from My Fair Lady.)