The Wrongologist

The Daily Escape:

Snoopy, Macy’s Day Parade NYC – 1980’s photo via CNN

(This is the final column until after Thanksgiving weekend. Blog readers should keep their tray tables in the upright and locked position until Monday, November 27. Eat hearty!)

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” –  This quote has been attributed to many including Mark Twain. Quote Investigator says it  was first said in this form by Dr. Ernest T. Campbell in a sermon at NYC’s Riverside Church on November 18, 1973.

Thanksgiving is Wrongo’s favorite holiday. It’s a secular holiday, so you’re not required to do anything. The celebration is subdued, and around here, we focus on gratitude. Wrongo always thinks that despite America’s current problems, we should be grateful that we live in this wonderful country of ours, and how grateful we are for all of our country’s gifts.

We’re lucky to live in a land of plenty: Most of us have employment, most have access to quality healthcare. Most of us have a warm place to sleep at night, most have hope for their kids’ future.

But, there are many of us who do not have those things, and it is our collective responsibility to help them get to a place where they are physically and mentally secure. They need our help. They need our government’s help. You know what to do, and you know how  to do it.

This is our 2,696^th column. Wrongo started this odyssey on March 29, 2011, so perhaps that’s the day he found out why he’s here. It has truly been the best job he’s ever had. Today, we average about 25,000 page views a week from all over the world. Seeing that report every week always amazes Wrongo, who never thought anyone would read his rants about what’s wrong in the world.

Thanks to all who have stuck around since the beginning and thanks to all who read it now. Special thanks to long haulers Monty B, Fred VK, David P, Pat M, JES and Terry McK, among others. Wrongo is very grateful to all of you!

Wrongo’s wish for this Thanksgiving is the same as it was last year: That you allow yourself to feel gratitude today and share it with those around you. The secret of life is to affect others in a positive way.

And whatever happens at your holiday celebration, odds are that your family/guests won’t solve the problem of peace in the Middle East over dinner. So don’t bother trying.

Here at the Mansion of Wrong, we’re truly grateful for the friends who are joining us today. We’re grateful to those came before us, and to family members and friends who we can’t be with today. We’re thankful to those who are on the front lines in military service, or at home in our hospitals, schools, firehouses, and police stations.

Happy Thanksgiving!

For your viewing pleasure, here are two takes on the holiday. First, the St. Louis Children’s Choirs’ “Let There Be Peace on Earth”, written by Jill Jackson-Miller and Sy Miller in 1955 and performed on stage at Powell Hall in St. Louis, MO:

Second, a short video that captures the need that some have to control the Thanksgiving Day dinner. It is by our film producer daughter. Any similarity to our family, or to her mother, or her foodie sister, is purely coincidental: