A Good Day To Be Thankful

It had been another long day of work. My feet hurt and my back ached but yet I was still feeling thankful.

I was thankful for my vehicle which brought me home. I was thankful for a house to enter and a recliner to sit in. On this day I was too tired though to even turn on the TV (which I am also thankful for).

So on this April day I am most thankful for:

•The first areas of blue sky which return after an extended rain.

•A warm afternoon at the local high school baseball field with no rain, no clouds, no wind and no chill in the air.

•For the high school parent who doesn’t think their son or daughter is the greatest athlete of all time.

•For political season and a return of candidate signs which seem to be in abundance this year. There is just something American about the process I’ve always felt.

•When I leave the dentist knowing I won’t have to return in a couple of weeks to have a new cavity fixed.

•The time when the phone rings and it is not a telemarketer or scam of some kind.

•The greenness of spring.

•A text from a friend.

•A movie made in 2018 that is not a remake of an old one.

•The old VH1 “Behind the Music” series.

•When the power doesn’t go out during a violent thunderstorm.

•For the political candidate who remembers at least some of their campaign promises once in office.

•That a few of us still enjoy reading a newspaper the way it should be read: by turning the actual pages.

•The dawn of a new day and the potential that things could be better than the day or days before.

•The pothole in the road once it has been fixed.

•The nail that doesn’t find residence in my tire.

•That I still own a working VCR.

•A parent who takes the time to stop you and thank you for a kind word written about their child in the paper. Many times simply mentioning their name means a lot.

•Childhood friends who remain friends today although we have long ago left our childhood years behind.

•Re-runs of The Andy Griffith Show.

•A good movie that actually provides suspense and a good scare or two. I remember years ago watching Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” with a friend who had never seen it. My friend didn’t know the story line and actually screamed out loud at the end. Now that’s good film making.

•And finally, that a new summer is now within view. Maybe we can leave the cold weather behind for a few months.

Monticello native Chris Bridges is a long-time newspaper columnist. He welcomes feedback about this column from readers of The Monticello News at pchrisbridges@gmail.com