Being Thankful and Having Hope
I’m not a huge holiday person but Thanksgiving has always been my favorite. Families gather (not that every relationship in a family is peachy) but many of us manage to put disputes and differences aside, if only for a day. We gorge on deliciousness to the point we have trouble moving, so we wobble to the couch and take a nap. How perfectly sensible is that? We wake up to stuff our cheeks with dessert. Often the kitchen is already magically clean, the ladies bring their A-game on T-Giving! Maybe a second nap and then it’s outdoors to toss the football around and play frisbee golf.
Shoot, even the weather seems to be crisp, cool and fall-like on that day. All of this and it’s only a Thursday, we don’t even have to burn a weekend day. Did I mention that we’re watching football all day long too? About 10 years ago the ladies united and mandated that we turn the game off while were eating. But even there, the Lions are always playing so that’s not a problem at all. It’s the perfect day, and it all revolves around being thankful! And I am!!
I’ve been thinking deep about optimism and hope lately. Mentally applying those concepts to our present hot topic real life situations. You know, like our messy political state. Might as well call it a quagmire. Seems to me we are divided as a nation on virtually every issue. I am hopeful, not optimistic, but hopeful that we can right the ship. Hopefully the men and women that lead this nation can find a way to mold a new reality. Closer to the heart of course. I saw a sign the other day that was so faded it was barely legible. It was the American flag with the caption ‘These colors don’t fade’ under it. Hmmmm.
Another pathetic division lies between our water quality and what we’re doing or not doing to solve this immensely important issue. John just posted an article about The South Florida Water Management District. Those bastards voted to extend a lease of 16,500 acres of land to a sugar company. Land that was being considered to create a reservoir and/or a buffering system to treat their toxic byproduct (our water). They did it without announcing there was to be a vote, at 9PM in the evening! Only 1 opponent (an Audubon officer) was present. WTF!! Anyway, I’m organizing a lynch mob to go confront those voting members. Anybody interested? I’m hopeful that we aren’t blind to the magnitude of this issue and what will happen if we don’t fix it.
Optimism at this point seems like a long lost friend. Used to be my best friend. Heck, back in college we would knock down a few beers and solve all the world’s problems. Seemed rather simple at the time. Miss you buddy. So I’m doubling down on Hope! Hope is my new BFF. Sometimes you meet somebody and just know they will be there for you the rest of your life. That’s Hope and me, we’re going to stay tight until the end! Hope is not jealous either. If he sees Optimism hanging around he’s going to invite him in. Three is great company, not a crowd to Hope. Hope tells me that Optimism is really young at heart and is probably hanging out with the Millennials right now. We hope he’s happy.
I hope all of you have a fantastic Thursday on my fondest of Holidays!
Live, Love, Dive, Jeff
