Personal thoughts this holiday…..

by Darryl Wilkinson

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I wonder about people who so readily take the day off from work but give little or no thought about the reason why. I know some laugh, saying the Puritans celebrated Thanksgiving because they were saved from the Indians, and we celebrate it because we were saved from the Puritans! But we should think deeper than that.

I’d be interested in knowing the things you’re truly thankful for, not the things you ought to say, but those things that really mean something to you personally. I give thanks

…for overhearing a lawyer friend as he gazed out from a courthouse window, musing about how Gallatin is so much like a Norman Rockwell painting — a small farming community with an attractive town square, with businesses surrounding a picturesque courthouse — the type of community that many, many people can only read about, the dream that so many Americans over two centuries have died for.

…for Friday night football, for the passions it can inspire; for the outstanding season just concluded, measured not by wins and losses but in the self-respect realized by young men who have learned the true value in achieving potential — and for a head football coach with the good judgment to not penalize one of his seniors facing the tough choice between attending national FFA convention or suiting up for one of the last varsity games he’ll ever play. Thanks for such leadership, coach.

…for a city administrator willing to risk ridicule while trying to improve my town’s dire financial situation. I say chin up, Toby. To stand by and just draw your paycheck without trying anything would be far worse. Thanks …and keep trying.

…to the guy who realized toothpaste is much more convenient to use out of a plastic tube

…for Landmark Mfg. Corporation — for being the biggest employer in our area, and for its ability to survive and even thrive amidst worldwide competition

…for baked beans from Gates Barbecue, for BBQ ribs from Zarda’s, for the smoked pork on a bun at Smokestack, for the barbecue sandwiches from Lynch’s deli, for bottles and bottles of KC Masterpiece, and for those barbecue days at Rains Meats just outside Gallatin (if anyone asks, it’s barbecue and those crisp, frosty October mornings that really make Missouri so great!). Don’t fret over a turkey in the oven this Thanksgiving; hey, did anyone mention barbecue?

…for reruns of the Andy Griffith Show, as proof that at least once, television did get it right.

…to my fellow workers here at Gallatin Publishing Company, who make me look good even when I’m not. No, make that especially when I’m not.

…for people who volunteer, for volunteers to deliver the Meals on Wheels, for volunteer fire fighters, for volunteers who weather the necessary meetings and stand firm focusing on the needs despite the criticism, who answer “Why?’ with “Why not?” And for the enthusiasm and vision of people like David Wilson of Sandman Motel, who just might spearhead a revival in the spirit of the Gallatin business community

…for the guy who invented the digital camera, saving us countless hours in the darkroom (even though you may be convinced I’m still in the dark by the things I write).

…for men like Carl Carder, a recent veteran of Iraqi Freedom who served us (that’s the U.S., you know …you and me) even though he had seniority and opportunity to have stayed home; I’m thankful for all our men and women who served and are serving in our country’s military

… for the opportunity to freely enter into a house of God anytime of my choosing, and especially for my church family where the Word is preached so accurately and shared so openly

…for the stability of leadership and excellence in the instruction offered to our kids at Gallatin R-5 School; we can point to national activity awards, to athletic titles, to perfect APR scores, to numerous scholastic collegiate scholarships. And more. Two equally impressive measures: 1) drywall is still in use in the boys bathrooms, just like when the school was built nearly 30 years ago (as compared to the chipped and graffiti-laden concrete bunkers they call bathrooms in some other schools I’ve visited where discipline is a chronic problem), and 2) the relationships we observe between youth maturing into adults with their old teachers — the hug initiated by a high schooler, warmly embracing his old sixth grade teacher while (amazingly) oblivious to any inquisitive glances from his peers, or the affectionate handshake of a 25-year-old, gripping the hand of his elementary school playground coach who means more to more people than he’ll probably ever know.

…for the right to publish what I choose, even printing cartoons lampooning our president, while knowing that America is still the envy of the world

…for the guys putting up the Christmas decorations around the business square. It always reminds me of that old Jimmy Stewart movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life” and, OK I know it’s hokey, but I like thinking about my hometown in that way.

…for Independence Day fireworks at Lake Viking, the spectacular annual reminder that our fine lake community is a distinctive asset that really helps set us apart.

…that my family’s holiday gatherings are times I look forward to sharing, not dreading as times to endure. It’s always been that way for me, but the older I get, the more I revere the generation of parents before me, for their effort and continuing love in pulling that off.

…for glimpses of God’s awesome creation, from the beauty of a lady bug to those awesome pictures delivered by the Hubble spacecraft. I’m told we can but see 2,000 stars with the naked eye, multiplied to 200 billion throughout the Milky Way thanks to such technology. And to think the Milky Way is just one of an estimated 200 billion solar systems. Like the kids, I say (yet never really fully comprehend this word) — awesome!

…for the little girl I barely recognized from a family I hardly know, who barged into my office unexpectedly one day and interrupted my drudgeries with a smile and then surprised me with a reminder about the miraculous power in a little hug. I will never forget that day …or all those fleeting days now in memory’s eye, when we had our own little girls and boys to go home to every night.

These are just a few things for which I give thanks. I am blessed.

I am especially thankful for those who support this newspaper by advertising and to each one of you as readers, for the privilege of visiting with you through this column from time to time. I thank you for your patience when I flub up or fall short of your expectations. I am not yet the wordsmith I want to be, and I fear …no, I’m thankful… that it may take many, many more of life’s experiences — and treasures — for me to get there.

Peace.