FRANK BERNHEISEL

ON BEING THANKFUL

I woke up about 4 AM, thinking about Thanksgiving. The American myth that I learned in grade school came to mind.

It was 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. There had been a good harvest, and the Puritans held a traditional day of Thanksgiving, with a large meal. This good harvest followed a really terrible harvest and winter the previous year. Winters in New England were really long and cold and dark back then.

Because the local Indians had helped the Puritans through that horrible winter, the Puritans invited the Indians to join them in the Thanksgiving celebration.

A wonderful myth, which brought to mind the many things that I have to be thankful for:

• I am thankful to have reached the age of 84 in good health and with most of my mental faculties
  
• I am thankful for Kathy and the great and mutually supportive relationship we have, which sustained me for twenty eight years;
  
• I am thankful that Steve's liver transplant was so successful that he was able to run the Marine Corps marathon this year
  
• I am thankful for eleven active, smart and healthy grandchildren, and for their parents;
  
• I am thankful for the many friends and family with whom I have shared milestones, mutual support, adventures, discussions and meals over the years;
  
• I am thankful for having made sufficient money during my working life to live comfortably in retirement and to make contributions to others, and
  
• I am thankful that we have not had a nuclear war.