Another Thanksgiving has arrived for us to celebrate.

As usual, I have many things to be thankful for. The very fact that I made it through the year with my family healthy and whole is at the top of my thankful list.

If there was nothing other than the well being of those I love to warrant my gratitude, that would be enough, but there is so much more.

For one thing I am very thankful that we have come so far in the way of household conveniences since the day of the Pilgrims. I have a nice refrigerator/freezer to keep my food cold and fresh. I have a gas stove to cook the Thanksgiving meal. I have a microwave, a programmable coffee maker, a great electric mixer and a few other gadgets to make my cooking life easier.

Can you imagine what it was like for the women in Plymouth on that first Thanksgiving? They did the cooking over an open fire probably with a lot of sweat on their brows. A river or stream would have been their refrigeration system. And keep in mind that so many of the settlers were sick those first few years, so I imagine it was a tough day of cooking for the Pilgrim ladies. And you know as well as I do that, sick or not, it was the women who did all the work. Plus they probably had to play nursemaid to the sick men.

I’m very thankful that the referendums are finally over. No matter how you voted, you had to be a bit sick of the political ads, the debates that didn’t seem much like debates to me and a landscape littered with Vote Yes/No signs.

I’m especially thankful that the price of crude oil has come down (at least a little) so we are not being fleeced as badly at the gas pumps as we were and it’s not quite as painful to heat our homes for the holiday.

At least the trip over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s house for the holiday won’t be so expensive that you have to hawk the family jewels to afford the trip.

I’m even thankful that Britney Spears and Paris Hilton seem to have faded somewhat from the spotlight. I was beginning to feel that these two Pop Tarts were getting more press than the important events that affect our lives.

I have nothing against those two air heads; excuse me, those two young ladies, but I felt that their stupid antics were not newsworthy or even remotely interesting. So, the less I see or hear of either one of them, the more thankful I am.

I’m very thankful that I have a job so I can afford the Thanksgiving dinner I will share with my family. I’m also very thankful that I have the family to share it with. And I’m thankful for you, dear readers for providing me with ideas and inspirations to write this column and the positive feedback that makes it all worthwhile.

The way I see it no matter how difficult life can be, and we all know it can at times be very difficult, there is always something to be thankful for. And I am thankful that I now have the opportunity to wish each and every one of you a very happy Thanksgiving.