Gratitude
It's Thanksgiving tomorrow. It's one of my favorite holidays, that rare secular day that takes on some deeper meaning but is not overtly religious, one that I feel very comfortable observing.
Every year, I like to think about what I am thankful for. I will do that tomorrow, God willing. But I read an op-ed in today's Times where Judith "Miss Manners" Martin argues that Americans rarely do anything but express ingratitdue, even on Thanksgiving. So with that in mind, I will say who I am thankful to, from the impersonal to the personal.
So thanks to...
- Mark Waid, Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Bill Willingham, Peter David, Devin Grayson and Chuck Dixon, for writing such wonderful comics month in and month out, year in and year out.
- Joss Whedon, for stretching the boundaries of TV over and over, and for listening to the fans.
- Terry Pratchett, for Discworld
- the collective whole of SF/F fandom, for giving me a place to be myself and a place to unwind
- the gang on the Tony's Online Tips message board, for making the board into someplace worth wasting my time at, and for giving me a new bunch of friends
- the good people at LiveJournal, for this wonderful site
- you, the users, posters, commenters and readers at LJ, who expand my horizons, listen to my complaints, share their observations, and make the journey easier
- The filk community, for giving me a fourth family, and for putting music in my life
- Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg, my rabbi, for doing exactly what a rabbi should do in a way that makes me a better Jew and a better person without making me feel like he ever thinks he's better than his congregants just because he's a rabbi. (And for all those pop culture references in his sermons)
- The Dreamer Clan, my third family, for being there through thick and thin, for making me part of the clan without hesitating when I met Batya, and for making life a lot more fun
- My second family, all those Levins and Gallers, the family I married into and that has made me and all of my original family feel welcome from the beginning, for being my family
- My first family, for being my family
- the clones, for everything that you have helped us through as we have helped you, and for giving me sisters
- Sarah Cole, for introducing me to Batya and for all the times we've been there for each other these past six years
- oh, and Batya, for her cooking. :)
May we all have a happy, joyous and thoughtful Thanksgiving, and may the forthcoming season of holidays - beginning Friday night for us Jews with the lighting of the Hanukkah lamp - bring us the light of love, the warmth of family and spirit of peace.
Now, who has the tofurkey?
Every year, I like to think about what I am thankful for. I will do that tomorrow, God willing. But I read an op-ed in today's Times where Judith "Miss Manners" Martin argues that Americans rarely do anything but express ingratitdue, even on Thanksgiving. So with that in mind, I will say who I am thankful to, from the impersonal to the personal.
So thanks to...
- Mark Waid, Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka, Bill Willingham, Peter David, Devin Grayson and Chuck Dixon, for writing such wonderful comics month in and month out, year in and year out.
- Joss Whedon, for stretching the boundaries of TV over and over, and for listening to the fans.
- Terry Pratchett, for Discworld
- the collective whole of SF/F fandom, for giving me a place to be myself and a place to unwind
- the gang on the Tony's Online Tips message board, for making the board into someplace worth wasting my time at, and for giving me a new bunch of friends
- the good people at LiveJournal, for this wonderful site
- you, the users, posters, commenters and readers at LJ, who expand my horizons, listen to my complaints, share their observations, and make the journey easier
- The filk community, for giving me a fourth family, and for putting music in my life
- Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg, my rabbi, for doing exactly what a rabbi should do in a way that makes me a better Jew and a better person without making me feel like he ever thinks he's better than his congregants just because he's a rabbi. (And for all those pop culture references in his sermons)
- The Dreamer Clan, my third family, for being there through thick and thin, for making me part of the clan without hesitating when I met Batya, and for making life a lot more fun
- My second family, all those Levins and Gallers, the family I married into and that has made me and all of my original family feel welcome from the beginning, for being my family
- My first family, for being my family
- the clones, for everything that you have helped us through as we have helped you, and for giving me sisters
- Sarah Cole, for introducing me to Batya and for all the times we've been there for each other these past six years
- oh, and Batya, for her cooking. :)
May we all have a happy, joyous and thoughtful Thanksgiving, and may the forthcoming season of holidays - beginning Friday night for us Jews with the lighting of the Hanukkah lamp - bring us the light of love, the warmth of family and spirit of peace.
Now, who has the tofurkey?