Bountiful rewards of the season

With Thanksgiving a few days away, I decided to write about the things I’m thankful for rather than politics. That said, faithful readers know very well that more than a few political references likely await them.

Here are 10 things I’m grateful for: ■ Family. Mine is a small but close one. The six of us can fit around my vintage dinner table, though I’m not known for the dinners I cook or serve. So perhaps I should say my sister Terri’s dinner table. We laugh, talk and disagree and feed our dogs leftover ham or chicken. We don’t hold grudges, and we always part with a smile, though I always return for whatever I forgot— my phone, my sweater, you name it.

We disagree on everything from Donald Trump’s presidency to which is better: canned or fresh cranberry sauce. I confess I like the canned stuff. ■ Republican officials, including Georgia’s secretary of state, who are showing impartiality and standing up for truth even when reality is not what President Donald Trump is demanding. It’s easy to stand up for what’s right when it’s to our advantage. It’s not so easy when we must take on the man who controls the nation’s nuclear weapons, criminal pardon rights, and the political party to which we may belong.

■ My pets. The self-declared head of my household is Shadow, aka Shady Lady, a former shelter dog who’s part chihuahua, part weenie and, I suspect, part terrier. She’s joined by Jupiter, aka Joopie Loopie, a young calico cat who’s clearly perplexed whenever Alexa, the voice of Amazon Echo, converses with me.

Across town with my husband is Blackie, an aging cat who, like Greta Garbo, just wants to be left alone. We rescued Blackie and another calico cat, Jasperina, aka Jaspie, years ago from our backyard. Jaspie had been Blackie’s protector. She crossed the

Rainbow Bridge three years ago just after Thanksgiving.

■ Masks. Whether they’re disposable, washable, fashionable or just practical, I’m grateful for all of them. Whether they tie or stretch over the ears, whether they’re red, white or blue, I don’t care as long as they protect you and me from each other and the coronavirus. I wish more people would quit falsely politicizing them and start wearing them. They are an easy way to make a fashion statement and also save lives.

■ Nurses, doctors and all hospital workers. They risk their lives daily to care for patients with the coronavirus even as other Americans buy into outlandish conspiracy theories and argue over whether the pandemic is a hoax. Maybe those of us healthy and rational enough to know better should take responsibility for our own conduct and quit sharing wild theories more worthy of a dystopian novel.

Masks aren’t a communist plot to take over America. I’m fairly sure that Vladimir Putin would come up with something that would infringe on our freedoms far more than masks decorated with flowers and sports-team logos.

■ Teachers and other school employees who never signed up to risk their lives as part of their jobs or face disciplinary measures. When I taught school decades ago, the worst I had to fear was getting the flu or being struck by a student. Now, teachers face far worse than the flu, and violent students come equipped with assault weapons that too many Americans refuse to regulate. And yes, gun control and the Second Amendment can stand side by side and both remain intact. ■ Laughter. I’m not ashamed to admit I have cried a lot this year. But I’ve also laughed plenty, like the time my sister and I were trying to help our 90-yearold mother by showing her how to call someone, including herself, from her Amazon Echo. Our conversation with Mama and the Echo maven Alexa was fit for “Saturday Night Live.”

But I got the most laughs this year out of a news conference outside a Philadelphia store that sells mulch and has an adult bookstore and a crematorium as neighbors. I refer to Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, already an unwitting and apparently unsatisfied star of the movie “Borat 2,” and other big-time lawyers who gathered outside Four Seasons Total Landscaping. The much-publicized event gave the store—no connection to Four Seasons hotel—an economic boost, and it later sold out of its “Make America Rake Again” shirts.

■ Good books. Right now, I’m savoring Margaret Renkl’s “Late Migrations,” a collection of essays that focus on nature and family, both of which

I cherish. The author’s brother Billy Renkl beautifully illustrates the book.

Earlier this year I read Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” for the first time. It was a difficult read, as I’ve found other books by Morrison to be. But when an author writes about slavery and doesn’t gloss over the ugliest parts, the book probably should be difficult. I’ve also been listening to Rachel Held Evans’ non-fiction audiobook “A Year of Biblical Womanhood.” It’s not my favorite work by Evans, but it’s still an entertaining, funny memoir.

■ The Out of Office Countdown desk calendar my daughter gave me for Christmas last year. Each day, it tells me how many days there are to go before someone exits the White House (even if by military escort) and shares a memorable quote.

So, as of today there are 59 days to go. Congratulations to President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. And thank you to all the voters who turned out this year: Democrats, Republicans and even the Kanye West supporters. (Someone should have a talk with the Kanye West base, though.) The day our votes don’t count because someone in power doesn’t like the outcome will be the day our democracy ends. I pray that day isn’t near.

■ Good health. I’m no poster woman for physical fitness or a calm temperament. But I’m healthier today than I was a year ago. I survived two heart surgeries in two weeks. I got my diabetes under control, and I’m hopeful that things will be better in 2021.

May everyone reading this column have good food and good health this Thanksgiving, too.