Thank-You Note

BEFORE I succumb to the commercial orgy of the holidays, I wanted to take a minute to reflect on yesterday's theme of giving thanks. Rather than offer the usual litany of family and friends and such for which to be thankful -- and I am thankful for those things -- I can't help but think of the film version of Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff. The Mercury astronauts are meeting the media, and answering the reporters' inane questions with the typical pablum of public figures, when the earnest John Glenn is asked to comment. I don't recall the specific question, but Glenn, played to perfection by Ed Harris, eschews the cynical confidence of his colleagues and instead answers with genuine enthusiasm. "I just thank God I live in a country where the best and the finest in a man can be brought out," he says, and as the crowd starts to react with applause, he adds, "I really do." It's not a bad thing to be grateful for.

Comments

[Bill]

Well said Tom, those are nice words. Happy Thanksgiving to you, Jen and the girls. You have something extra to be thankful for this year!