- I am thankful for the '94 6 cylinder 4WD King Cab Ford Ranger I used to own. It was the first loan purchase I made after recovering from a Chapter 13, another one of the times in my life I started over, and had it paid off in a year. This old beast didn't hardly leak or burn any oil, maybe a quart every two months, didn't smoke, and the most amazing thing is when I sold it it had exactly 999,995.8 miles on it and still going fine, no bullshit - almost a million. We should have driven it the last 4.2 miles to roll it over. It got through snow and mud, carried tons of rock and furniture, the bed was a great place to camp when the ground was too cold or wet, and outside of a few repairs over the years it was a solid working truck. The Red Ranger was a reminder that things always work when you need them to, just not when you want them to.
"Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners." - I am thankful for my wife's walk. "That reminds me, I need to get my watch fixed."
- Today I am thankful I pay for what I use, credit those from whom I borrow, and share what is mine without reservation.
"If you steal from one author it's plagiarism; if you steal from many it's research." - I am thankful for the fairly rare occasion I have the right answer (err, question) on "Jeopardy." I really don't watch much television, but it is usually on right about the time we take a quick break from our overly active lives for a bite to eat. The most rewarding ones are answers from the most obscure categories I didn't know anyone ever even thought about, like who Bono gave a pair of his glasses to. :-) The other reason I'm thankful for Jeopardy is I learn a lot of stuff I never would have otherwise known.
"Jeopardy is going to call Billy, it is my destiny that I triumph magnificently on that show and I'll never do that if I have to wear this stupid hoochie-mama looking dress that you bought me which was obviously a poor excuse to cover up the fact that you fucked up again!" - Today marks the one year anniversary of this list, and it will be my last. I will continue to be thankful daily, but there is no need to chronicle further, it has done what I needed it to do.
Sometimes I wasn't in the mood, sometimes uninspired, but always - ALWAYS - learned something about myself, about the way I see the world and the rest of humanity. It has been both humbling and inspiring. Being thankful not only pays forward, it pays inward. My life is a different place than it was a year ago. This stuff WORKS.
My final thankful item is that these are only a small fraction of the things I will be grateful for in what remains of my life. For those of you that have read, I'm not thankful for your reading, I am thankful that it might have meant something in your life. Thank you for taking this journey with me.
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." - John F. Kennedy
Categories: About the Art
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