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There’s saying thanks, and being thankful

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FromEditorsDesk TonyMany of the people I know, and quite a few that I don’t, aver that their favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.

There is a lot to be said about it, when families come together and celebrate the things that make like great. There’s also not a lot of pre-Thanksgiving falderol to clog up the airwaves.

Aside from maybe some extra turkeys in the food aisles, you don’t see tons of Thanksgiving-related merchandise clogging up department store aisles, either.

I’ll admit that I’m one of those guys, one that enjoys Thanksgiving more than other holidays (Please don’t tell my wife. She will punish me by buying more Christmas decorations and making me put them up.)

My favorite part is family, hanging out with my loved ones enjoying good food and terrible football (I’m a long-suffering Cowboys fan. Thanksgiving is always a time for mixed emotions.) The naps are pretty legit, too (I’m just sayin’).

Don’t get me wrong, here. Christmas is amazing, what with the birth of Christ and the music and celebration. Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Mannheim Steamroller has completely energized my enjoyment of Christmas music, and the old Rankin Bass television specials, the stop-motion animation of Rudolph and the Heat Miser and the Bumble — all those wonderful memories.

The issue for me is the forced feeling I get participating in the Christmas holiday. The relentless buybuybuy on the airwaves, the putting out of Christmas items in September all combine to create a feeling of capitulation to the season, instead of trying to embrace it for what it is.

Seriously, the fistfights on Black Friday alone should clue us all into the idea that Christmas is less of the holiday than it once was.

Thanksgiving, though, still remains the same, so in that vein, let’s all remember what there is to be thankful for.

I’m thankful, so very thankful, that there is a just and loving God in Heaven.

I’m extremely thankful that my children, both teenagers, actually want to spend time with me, and not, as is kinda normal, want to fight. Another bonus: they tend to like a lot of my music (they still cheat at slug bug, though).

I’m over the moon about my wife. There’s nothing like the feeling of coming home to someone who loves you.

I have a really cool family — brothers, cousins, dad, nieces — that are a comfort, even though I’m elsewhere.

I am thankful that I had the opportunity over the last year to pepper you with my screeds, and that most of you appreciate my point of view. I’m also thankful that, for the time being, that I live in a country that has enough freedom left to allow me to write and voice my opinion.

I’m thankful for working in a county like this in East Texas, a really blessed state, where despite what the folks on TV will tell you, we’re a welcoming state.

More than most, I’m thankful for this time of year because at least for a few months, the thermostat is at a respectable level.

Tony Farkas is editor of the Trinity County News-Standard. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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