Thankful? Today? It’s a Different World

Tomorrow is our traditional day to give thanks, right? It’s a tradition that goes back to the pilgrims, Plymouth Rock and the beginnings of a twinkling in the eye for a new nation.

Fast forward 300 years or so and the holiday has changed. Actually, it’s kind of getting lost, isn’t it? Think about it. We started seeing Halloween taking over store shelves as early as July in some cases, certainly by August. And not too doggone long after that, the orange and black spooky stuff gets relegated to the back aisle and Christmas in September begins.

And for the last month we are seeing one Black Friday sale after another.

Don’t know about you, but the oversaturation of all this is wearing me out. What happened to everything having a season? Heck, you know what happened to it. Money happened.

We all feel a little like Charlie Brown in his Christmas special when he moans: Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

Trouble is, we don’t have anyone like Linus stepping up with, “Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” For almost a minute and a half Linus shares the story from Luke. (Word is that creator Charles Schulz made sure that was included in the now 60-year-old TV special.) At the end, Linus walks over to his friend and says “That’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.”

At least that’s what I think he says. Always have trouble seeing that part. For some reason the TV gets blurry – and I have to blow my nose.

Back to thankful.

We live in a different world friends. Like Bobby Dylan sang, for the times they are a-changin’.

We have a president who may be the most crass person to ever hold that office. Without a doubt he is getting some good things done, but he’s also drawing a line in the sand between the left and the right (and a whole lot of folks in the middle) deeper than it’s been for a long time.

We have a large – and growing – segment of our society who believe they are entitled to a lot of things you and I weren’t in our younger years. Gone – it seems – is the idea you get what you work for. Along with Trump, they aren’t helping that line in the sand.

We put people in office now who don’t want to represent us, they want to represent their political party. I get the idea of party loyalty and unity. But c’mon, when almost every vote cast is in accordance with party (by leaps and bounds), are they really representing their constituents?

Our neighborhoods are becoming more distant. When’s the last time you heard about a block party – or as we used to call them, cook-outs? A lot of us want to “connect” now on social media. Nothing wrong with that . . . until it replaces human interaction. If you don’t know your neighbor, here’s a thought. Go next door and borrow a cup of sugar. Even if you don’t need it. You might be surprised that you get – and give – a whole lot more.

If you’re like me, you know this list could go on a while. I suppose our grandparents used to say the same sorts of things back in the day. Fifty years from now – God willing – these youngsters may as well.

Are we on a really bad track? Or is this just the way life works?

Truth is, none of us know, do we? We know what we think, but we don’t know for sure. All I really do know is that tomorrow is a time to say thanks. We can and should be thankful to the Man upstairs for what we have. For myself, I’ll also ask for a little grace on me dwelling too much on what I don’t have, or think I should have. We’re not promised anything – and what I have is far more than a lot of my forebearers had.

I’m sure you have similar feelings.

Let me wrap up with one last thank you – to you. Without readers and advertisers, there is no edition. We’re honored to do our part to keep Crawfordsville and Montgomery County’s biggest and most popular newspaper going until the next generation of caretakers take over. Thank you for allowing and supporting that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Two cents, which is about how much Timmons said his columns are worth, appears periodically on Wednesdays in The Paper. Timmons is the publisher of The Paper and can be contacted at ttimmons@thepaper24-7.com.