Steve Hansen: Thankful for things both big, small

Former QCS Managing Editor

I’d like to mention some small things I’m thankful for as I prepare for tomorrow’s holiday.

Many others will talk about the big ones, like being thankful not to be a Syrian refugee, which applies to everyone I know.

I am thankful that yard work is over for the year.

I am thankful that my dog and my cat get along, usually. They only argue when food is involved, then it’s all sound, no fury.

I am thankful that gas prices have stayed under $2 a gallon in Tucumcari for the past month or so.

I am thankful that we are gradually easing into winter with gradually cooling temperatures and not having a year when it’s summer one day and ski season the next.

I am thankful that when I get tired of the prematurely hyper-hyped holiday gift-buying season, which now seems to start with the World Series, I can just turn off the TV.

Thank you, Tucumcari, for being small enough to allow an escape from ex-superstars over-performing songs about joyful snow imagery while I’m still in shorts and sneakers.

I am thankful that, with our children grown, my wife and I are free from the responsibility of roasting a vast turkey and its myriad fixings. Don’t get me wrong, turkey is wonderful as a truly American delicacy, but not as a mandate. Besides, I’m not that fond of cranberries.

We’re planning a holiday that may involve a long walk or a drive.

I am thankful we are both in good health to enjoy these plans.

Oops, that’s a major thing to be thankful for, as is the continued good health of our kids and my granddaughter, who is learning what the English do while Americans eat turkey, since her dad is stationed in England with the Air Force.

While I’m on the major things, I am also thankful for some great people I’ve had the privilege of working with this year as both as the Quay County Sun’s editor and now as a volunteer.

Thanksgiving Day should be considered one of our nation’s greatest inventions, and for that, too, we should be thankful.

Have a great holiday, everyone.

Steve Hansen writes about our life and times from his perspective of a retired Tucumcari journalist. Contact him at:

[email protected]