THE TYRANNY OF PETTY GRIPING GIVES WAY TO A DAY OF THANKS

Thanksgiving is a holiday of glorious meaning and skewed history. That we celebrate the former and disregard the latter makes the day special.

As a holiday, Christmas sometimes takes criticism because its intent, that of celebrating the birth of God's son, too often falls in the shadow of holiday parties, gift exchanges and the latest Nintendo offering.

We add our voices to carols that extol the blessed events of Bethlehem but occupy our thoughts with what gifts need to be bought for whom.

Thanksgiving is different because it has evolved into a purpose grander than its origin. There is a low end to this day's endeavor; though not necessarily spiritual, all people can achieve it. Quite simply, it is to give thanks.

We need not spend considerable time celebrating the events that sparked the holiday's creation; unlike those who followed a bright star to the manger in Judea, wise men were far from this scene.

The Plymouth colonists meant well but were hardly prepared for the adversities the New World had to offer. The freedom they sought brought them mostly calamity. Half their number perished before a decent crop could be harvested.

Though school children celebrate the pilgrims' progress, Thanksgiving came about not from achievement but from an ascension following failure. The colonists gave thanks when their mortality rate ~be~gan to improve, which constitutes revelry on a fairly pessimistic plain.

In fact, if native Americans in the neighborhood hadn't thought to bring wild turkeys to the feast, our traditional Thanksgiving meal might now have corn on the cob as its centerpiece.

Thus, if we decided to give the matter much thought, there wouldn't be a lot of inspiration to draw from. That's all the better: we create our own inspiration.

Thanksgiving is the most democratic of holidays because it includes everyone.

The Fourth of July is a hollow observance for persons deprived of independence. The lovelorn feel shortchanged by Valentine's Day. Only banks and government offices know what to make of Presidents' Day.

But all people can find in themselves something for which they are thankful.

The poor can be thankful they aren't poorer. The sick can be thankful they aren't sicker. The weak can be thankful they aren't weaker. The jailed can be thankful they aren't on death row.

Even the financially bankrupt can be thankful they aren't Donald Trump, who has money problems and women problems.

If only for the fact they are alive to feel thankful, people should be thankful.

Like the man who grieved because he had no shoes until he met a man with no feet, we should all recognize on Thanksgiving that, of the billions of people in this world, millions have been given worse deals.

Go to a stadium some time and take a look around you: there are 50,000 individuals with 50,000 individual sets of problems, none of which involve you. What are the chances that the challenges you face in life are more trying than those of 49,999 other people?

See, you don't even have the worst case in this one stadium in this one city in this one state in this one country ... you get the point.

Treating me generously, you will view this as a confession. My ~request is to be weighed on my words, not my actions. No one moans more about the rigors of everyday existence than I do; I am a tyrant of petty griping. It is shameful considering all I've been given.

Here, I seek absolution. No one has had a better run in life than I have. I live comfortably and have work that challenges me. My family and friends are healthy and loving. I've known far more good times than bad. If I sometimes lament the fact I'm getting older, I recognize that the alternative is none too attractive.

Life is good ... there is no plainer way to put it.

Thanksgiving is a grand day because of what we make of it. We don't get gifts, but weigh those we already possess. For this, we can be grateful.