Thanksgiving 2013, I barely know where to start

I barely know where to start. I could point out that this is the second Thanksgiving since our Ambassador and 3 brave men were tortured, brutalized and finally died because we have a morally challenged amateur in the office where a courageous leader belongs, but I won't.

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I could note that this is the second Thanksgiving since millions of Sandy survivors became homeless while hoping for their government insured premium returns Obama promised to expedite, but I won't. I could measure my sadness watching Oprah demean herself struggling for the reset button recreating her relevance by playing the 'race card' yet again, but I won't. I could register my disappointment in Harry Reid's creation of the senate nuclear option he once vehemently opposed, demonstrating either his tunnel vision or his frightful confidence in the corruption which would allow the Democratic Party to destroy the Senate forever and ever, amen, but I won't. I could point out the obvious serial corruption and lies of an administration dedicated to keeping its constituency in a mushroom farm environment, but I won't.

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I could discuss (again) the cancer known as ObamaCare and the shockingly diverse ways it has metastasized our economic and social structure, but I won't. Instead, I will go to the universal shock and sadness we all felt 50 years ago when a flawed but stellar leader was taken from us. JFK governed a nation divided on issues,but united in a shared vision of the America we all believed we could be. There were no Democrats or Republicans that day nor were there any for days to follow as we all succumbed to our grief and insatiable need for every detail which might explain “why??”. JFK's leadership never promised hope and change, but offered hard work yielding a well deserved sense of accomplishment. He promised a hand up as opposed to a hand out. He believed in the dignity of man, EVERY man and he demonstrated the ability to encourage us all to stand a little taller, dig a little deeper and work a little harder toward our common goal. That's the leadership stolen from us and we still miss it. Arguably, now more than ever. I could focus on the pride we experience when primed for success as opposed to the defeat we own when set up for failure.”Ask not what your country can do for you, Ask what you can do for your country” as opposed to …..oh, I can't think of a single statement from the past 5 years worthy to share space in the same paragraph, so I won't even go there. Instead, I will leave you with a prayer I lifted from “The Waltons”. For those of you too young to remember, The Waltons tv-chronicled life in the Virginia Appalachians spanning the mid 30s to the 60s. This semi-fictitious family shared their values through post Depression era, 2 wars, and the timeless challenges every American family experiences. The goal was to share simplistic solutions to the dilemmas of our increasingly complicated lives. While raising my own children, this became our “grace” at every holiday dinner, every family event. “Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for the roof above us, the food before us and for each other. Help us to remember that a family is for growing up in, for going away from and for coming back to. It is for loving concern and for helping each other through happy times and sad. With your help, this family will always be together in our hearts and in our memories, giving each of us the strength to live our own lives and be our own person.” Amen I hope this 'speaks' to you and yours this Thanksgiving as it has carried my own family through 3 generations. Happy Thanksgiving extended family. Welcome home Kandahar Lee, and good night John Boy.

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