giving thanks?

Simply put, I'm Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge for ALL holidays,
except Halloween, or dia de los Muertos, which is not now.

I've worked retail for more than half my life. It's not
something I planned on doing, well actually when I was
in highschool my business class project was owning a skate
shop (I was managing a shop then) at presentation, my
business did not generate enough money, and well, I failed
that project. But that's another story. Since college I
wanted to teach art, or socio-political highschool classes.
But the western states don't pay teachers much, so I dropped
out of the University and took a job managing a mall based
'ski/skate/bike shop'. And I've been a MALL RAT ever since.
That being said, you learn to dread "Black Friday", the
holiday traffic, the rudeness and grossness of pure
consumerism. So this time of year really doesn't cause any
reflection of thankfulness with me, until this year, or
actually today. After going through the roll call of cycling
blogs (ALMOST everyone is still on vacation) I ended up on
FATTIES' -fatcyclist-. Reading Elden's words and those of the
commenters, made me inventory my life. I decided not to
post a comment, instead I made some coffee, emptied the whip
cream on an entire pumpkin pie and had breakfast (and lunch)
while watching crappy TV and cleaning my neglected bike.
That leaves plenty of time to ponder life.




I'm like a rescue dog, maybe. Besides being fat & lazy like Bella.....

I have incredibly bad luck, often. But in retrospect I have
good luck (and friends & family).

I was a dork all through school & afterwards, but I married
the popular girl. How did that work? Ask her optometrist,
I think her vision is in question. And she's stayed with me
through all my crazy doings.

I have three healthy, happy, and thriving kids. Each a unique
person, funny in their own way, all that I'm so proud of.

I know my birth family, and so many questions while growing up
are now answered, like a tree finding it's roots.

My aunt beat her breast cancer, and right now it doesn't have
it's vicious claws in anyone in our family.

We have a house without a ridiculous mortgage payment, we sold
my car, and the family truckster seems to run fine, for now.

That I have friends who truely define friends. Two months or
ten years, you pick up the phone and they're there for you.

For now I have a job, for lack of a better description, that
pays some of the bills.

So much for ranting and silly postings, I'm a sentimental old
softy........ later I'll give you 20 posts to waste 20 minutes
of your time. Tomorrow after critical mass (and Black Friday
at the mall) - be nice people!