I'm Thankful

I have so many things to be thankful for.  Family. Friends. Faith. Country. Employer. Co-Workers. It is a long list and it is worth spending some time today reflecting on what Thanksgiving is really about beyond the turkey and football.

It is easy to get discouraged today when we look around us.  High unemployment.  Trillion dollar deficits.  People without a clue.  Politicians with no spines.  However, this is really the day when the glass on the table really should be viewed as half full rather than half empty.

A few things that I am thankful for beyond what I mentioned above.

• I am thankful I was not the guy from Faith Baptist Bible College who guarded Jack Taylor of Grinnell College in Tuesday's basketball game when he scored an NCAA record 138 points.

• I am thankful I am not Taylor's shooting arm (he took 108 shots, 71 from beyond the 3-point arc).  That is one shot every 20 seconds he was in the game.  He only played 38 minutes.

• I am thankful that I am not the coach of Faith Bible College which scored 104 points in the game but still lost by 75 points (179-104).  

• I am thankful I am not the ex-CEO (Leo Apotheker) or on the Board of Directors of Hewlett Packard who bought a UK software company for $9.7 billion a little over one year ago and wrote off $8.8 billion on that investment this week.

• I am thankful that I am not former General and CIA Director David Petraeus this Thanksgiving when he has to sit down to dinner with his family.

• I am thankful I am not a turkey living in Minnesota. Interesting trivia fact that I learned this week- Minnesota is the nation's leading turkey producing state with 46.5 million gobblers raised there each year.  Yes, I am also thankful that I am not Senator Al Franken from Minnesota.

• I am thankful I don't live in Greece.

• I am thankful that I do not like Hostess Twinkies or Ho-Ho's.  Hostess Brands announced they would liquidate the company and 18,000 workers will lost their jobs in the wake of a strike by one its unions.

• I am thankful that I am not a nudist in San Francisco.  San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted 6-5 in favor of a public safety ordinance that prohibits nudity in most public places, including streets, sidewalks and public transit.  What is the world coming to if San Francisco will not allow public nudity?

• I am thankful that I am not President Obama or Speaker Boehner as we head for the fiscal cliff.  We are at the point that there are no good options.  A lot of people are going to be unhappy with whatever comes out of this.  It is easy to govern when you are giving stuff away.  It is not so easy when you are taking things away.

• I am thankful for all BeeLine readers and especially those of you who have recommended this blog to others.  Although the month is not over, BeeLine has already broken its monthly readership record with almost 3,000 views.