TIP #515 - THANKSGIVING This will not be an official researching tip but just a very short look at the past and present of Thanksgiving Day. No dates, nothing deep, just a thought or so. From the time the pilgrims landed until today; no matter how tough the times, not matter how unstable the world might have appeared, Americans have always found something for which to be thankful. Over the years those reasons have changed and grown but they have always been there. For our Kentucky ancestors, thankfulness was deep in their hearts. The Indians didn't attack. The baby didn't die. The crops that year were harvested and would provide food for man and beast through the harsh winter months. The storms passed over the cabin with no destruction. The supply train made it to the mercantile. As years passed, the thankfulness continued but changed with the changing times. The road was completed so they could get to town easier The church was there as a haven for a weary soul The Civil War was ended finally and their son came home The Union was spared; the slaves were freed. Moving into the 20th century - GI Joe is ok; the mother clutches a letter The Depression has passed and somehow they survived Jobs are coming back and Daddy is working again The Berlin Wall has fallen What about the 21st century? What can we be thankful for in the year 2004? I'll let you make your own list. Of a certainty, the times have always been hard. Many families didn't greet their returning soldier boy or girl and they lie buried on foreign lands. Many didn't make it through the Depression. Storms did kill and destroy. Illnesses did ravage. But in the heart of every American, in every Kentuckian, is that determination that has always looked towards the morrow, have learned from the past, and have put the proverbial one foot in front of the other. When you celebrate Thanksgiving this year and are thanking God for the blessings He has bestowed on your family; remember those who gave their all, who worked from sunrise to sunset, and those who have died to make America a free country so we could get our family, our friends, maybe just only our cat and dog if our families are gone ... and be thankful. No matter how hard, no matter how drear, no matter how alone ... we can be thankful. Happy Thanksgiving from my house to yours. Sandi (c) Copyright 24 Nov 2004, Sandra K. Gorin Colonel Sandi Gorin SCKY Links: http://www.public.asu.edu/~moore/Gorin.html Sandi's Puzzlers: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gensoup/gorin/puz.html Gorin Publishing: http://ggpublishing.tripod.com/