Thanksgiving 2005

This is actually a war poster from 1943. [Four Freedoms speech]

This is not a celebrated day in Pakistan.

It is an important day to me in that it hopefully provides a moment to focus on family and friends. [It's not as stressful as a 'postcard' Christmas and not as full of the remorse as New Year's Day].

I've been thinking about the word "community" lately. I'll define a community as a group of organisms (i.e. people) with a common relationship; this 'link' could be geographic (as in a town), political (as is a club or nation), or many other categories that pull us together - and at times pull us apart.

I am thankful for my community, which is global in many respects. I am thankful to my bloodlines (i.e. family) that keep me grounded and moving in a good direction - which reside in the USA. I am thankful for my friends; some friends are personally close and also keep my grounded (largely in the USA) and many friends have similar interests and goals at various points in our lives - which in over three continents. I am also thankful for the unseen individuals in my community; that would be the people who run my school, who provide services like this Blogger, who promote education and understanding, who promote growth to other individuals in a variety of ways - and who, for the most part, go unrecognized and unknown.

Thank you to the these individuals that are part of the greater community - and that contribute what they have in their own way. We all desire specific recognition for our specific contributions, but this will have to suffice for this blog.

Go eat turkey, and be merry.

Links on Thanksgiving Day:
History Channel