Possibly the Last Thanksgiving Ever

I did not participate in facebook's annual "30 Days of Thankfulness" movement or whatever it is, and it occurred to me earlier today that it may have in fact been my last opportunity to do so. Here, then, is my attempt to make up for all 30 days by listing anything that I have been thankful for, pretty much ever. This would have been a much easier task if I'd had 30 days to think about it instead of just one. Be that as it may, here we go. In no particular order.

This list will become comprehensive if you add to it the following thought: if you yourself have ever enjoyed any of these things, with me or without me, then you are included in my thankfulness, and I am thankful for you, too.

1. the greater Chicagoland area
2. the loving, stable home where I was raised, which was filled for my benefit with comfort objects and school supplies
3. French: language, literature, cinema, braids, fries and kisses
4. the interstate highway system
5. the back roads
6. planes, trains and automobiles, especially Subarus
7. corn fields
8. museums
9. libraries
10. school, and school breaks
11. Springfield, OH and Bloomington, IN
12. salaried jobs
13. national parks
13.5 bear lockers in which to store things that smell good
14. Twentynine Palms, CA and the uppity Joshua Trees
15. a roof, under which there are working utilities
15.5 a beautiful, motley collection of people I know would help keep me in #15
16. food: slow, fast, homegrown, store-bought, American, ethnic
17. soothing sounds that come out of acoustic guitars
18. other people's children, and the fact that they are other people's
19. blank pages, and filled pages
20. I'm just gonna go ahead and say it: vodka.
21. TWE, graphic organizers, reproducibles, templates, and everything else that makes my job easier
22. cascading reel slot machines
23. the postal service
24. the military-industrial complex
25. wireless internet, because it enables me to stalk you quite effectively
26. the Sierra Nevadas, and pretty much all other mountains
27. sparkly things
28. the $5 billion zombie apocalypse industry
29. enough time, energy, and money to be able to do THIS twice a week (more or less)
30. pine trees, especially bristlecones and pinyons

Also: I'm thankful for three days to recover from the inevitable bodily backlash that will come from my having eaten some things I don't normally eat during today's Celebration of Genocide feast. If it's to be the last one, then darnit, I'm doing it right.

Oops! I forgot to mention those years in North Manchester on my list of things I'm thankful for. This song should cover it.

Happy Thanksgiving.