30 Days of Being Thankful

Each November, a popular trend on Facebook is to express one item per day about things we are thankful for.

It’s actually somewhat of a challenge to keep the postings going for 30 consecutive days. Work and other responsibilities often make it difficult to post each day (it’s common to see people post three or four days worth of thankful items at once).

Going a somewhat different route, I will post 30 things at once in this writing about various items—some serious and some not-so-serious—that I am thankful for. It is important to be thankful all year, not just during a particular month on the calendar or because a certain holiday is approaching.

Sports writing legend Furman Bisher used to write a column of this nature each Thanksgiving day so I dedicate this “thankful” column to his memory.

Let’s get it rolling. This November I am thankful for:

1. Growing up in small town America.

2. High school football on a Friday night.

3. Fall festivals, such as our very own Deer Festival this past weekend.

4. Old photographs.

5. Classic television shows.

6. John Wayne movies.

7. Memories of the opening day of dove season each year and being allowed to participate in the shoots held by Mr. Walker Thornton.

8. Having the positive influence of four grandparents while growing up.

9. Thanksgiving Day when the weather is pleasant.

10. A new edition of the hometown paper each week.

11. Parents who realize that high school coaches are not out to punish their kid by depriving him or her of playing time.

12. A childhood which produced positive memories.

13. Horror movies leading up to Halloween.

14. That this year’s presidential election is now behind us.

15. Friends who text just to say hello and see how you are doing.

16. For being able to still read a newspaper while holding it in your hands and not looking at it on a computer.

17. My nieces Claudia and Natascha.

18. That Mr. Bill Hughes gave me an opportunity way back in the fall of 1988 to contribute sports articles for this newspaper.

19. My brother, Jon, for being a hard worker and quality person.

20. A good book and the anticipation of discovering the contents which await within.

21. Getting home before dark (which is more difficult now with the time change.)

22. Having parents who provided 100 percent of what I needed growing up and at least 95 percent of what I wanted.

23. Doctor Who episodes featuring Tom Baker.

24. The fact that since graduating college in 1993 and going to work on a full-time basis, there has not been one day I have had to say, “I am unemployed.”

25. A Saturday full of college football beginning at noon and lasting well past midnight.

26. The Atlanta Falcons from the early 1990s. They might not have always won but they were the most entertaining teams in franchise history.

27. Athletes who compete at Division III schools.

28. The fact that a live football game of some description is on television seven days a week.

29. The SEC Network.

30. A comfortable pair of shoes.

In compiling this list, it would have been easy to include another 30 items to be thankful for. I hope this month of thanks is a positive one in all ways for you and your family.

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