Ahem...

Look, I'm at least 8 pints into the evening, on top of a HUGE meal of turkey, potatoes, dressing, gravy, corn, buns, pies, cakes and cookies... but I have to interupt Ryan here.

First off, I'm not a secularist. I am the kind of person that feels that "holiday" should still mean "holy day" in our national calendar. I am a realist, though, and I know that isn't going to happen anytime soon.

So, when the nation takes a day to celebrate the things in life they feel "thankful" for, I expect EVERYONE here to take notice and celebrate. "Thankful" literally means "grateful for something received"... and whom are we grateful to for the "blessings" in our life? Is it Bush or Obama that we thank for our families, our homes, our livelyhoods? Do we thank ourselves for the "gifts" we were endowed from birth? If we thank our parents, whom do we thank for them?

Let's face it... there are NO other secular holidays that FORCE this society to acknowledge the FACT of God than Thanksgiving. It is a tradition based in the history of our religious past, and though it is very non-religious now... the premise it asks us to consider in its makeup IS very religious. It asks us to thank God for the goodness and bounty he has given us as individuals, as a nation, and as a society.

So, without further adieu...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone that reads this!

I, myself, an thankful for my wife, my family, my friends, and my new life here in NEPA. I am thankful that I have been allowed to see the Hand of God at work in my life on an almost daily basis over the last 3 years. I am thankful that I live in a nation that allows me to question the status quo without fear of reprisal, and where I am guaranteed my right to voice my say in government.

The new President and the terror attacks are big discussion items, I know... but let's keep our priorities in order, and NOT miss a chance to put God back into the Thanksgiving equation at every opportunity, okay?