Happy Thanksgiving!

Of all the things I’m thankful for on this day…family, friends, reasonable health… I thank God most of all for making me an American. Most all of the good things in my life begin and end with that one single fact.

Please spare a thought today for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coasties on the front lines defending our way of life, no matter where those "lines" may be. I'm thankful for those men and women, those that came before, and those that will follow in their footsteps.

You could do much worse today than read the editorial the WSJ has published every Thanksgiving since 1961.

We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.

And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out from Delftshaven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this autumn be thankful for a fair land.

As true today as it was back in 1961.

Here’s a lightweight Thanksgiving article in the WaTimes: Among other things, it says:

Our gobbler gobbling is considerable. Americans will consume 46 million turkeys today, according to the National Turkey Federation; our troops in Iraq alone will chow down on 20 tons, according to the Army's 1st Calvalry Division.

Oh, yeah, and Republicans are happier and have more to be thankful for than Democrats. Really.

Too late this year, but useful next Thanksgiving: “Happy Thanksgiving from Jalopnik: Engine Hoist Turkey Deep Fry.” Or, how to deep-fry a 17-pound turkey without setting the world on fire. Literally. With pictures!!

Today’s Pic: (Top of the page) A photo from the best Thanksgiving I ever spent away from family. That’s my buddy Dan from Florida on the right, with two friends who I met the first time that Thanksgiving and whose names I don’t remember. And, yes, that’s deep-fried turkey…the most succulent turkey I’ve ever had, bar none. A great day spent with good friends. Thanks, Dan and Marti! Near Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Thanksgiving Day, 1999.