Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Arlene and I usually have twenty or more people staying with us from Wednesday through Sunday and even a few more for Thanksgiving dinner. Arlen is an amazing organizer and has the days planned to a "T". From the competitive bake-off, where everyone is required to make something for the competition to the movie theater, to lunch and shopping in Chicago, to leftovers... Thanksgiving is truly an event.
This year, Thanksgiving will be different, largely because of the economic issues facing families all across the country and around the world. Several of the usual attendees have lost jobs and others just cannot afford the plane ticket. As we have discussed in previous blogs, it is the nature of the world we live in.
At times like this, I think it causes me to focus more intensely on just why I must be thankful. Even though members of my family will be missed over the weekend, they are all healthy and their families are intact. The fact that the larger group may not assemble in one place does not change our love for one another when we are not able to be together. Arlene and I have so very much to be thankful for and we recognize how blessed we are.
We are also equally blessed because of our association and friendship with you. I have met many of you in person and others, I have yet to meet. My dad's life has brought us together and I am so very grateful for your love of this book and support of my efforts to share this story with a wider audience. Everything from the upcoming movie to our publishing deal in China. From the communities of Will County, Kankakee County and Naperville, IL who have chosen the tale of the "country boy who could hit the ball a country mile" for their community reading programs to the United States Navy using Playing with the Enemy in officers training programs. I am constantly amazed at how this story travels from one place to another and I know it is because of you. You carry this story in your hearts wherever you go and share it in ways I would have never dreamed possible. I am grateful for you on this Thanksgiving in ways I am not able to adequately express. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
So, from our family to yours, we wish you a blessed Thanksgiving holiday!
Gary
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