Happy Thanksgiving, gang.
We do this little morning meeting every Monday through Friday.
Even Thanksgiving Thursday.
Let's do a quick 5-at-10 today, shall we? I think we shall.
Other than friends, family and health, let's review some things that I am thankful for.
Welcome back
The nostalgic sports fans among us have to be doing cartwheels, right?
Tiger won at Augusta. The tennis circuit was wowed by the 30-somethings. Brady won the Super Bowl.
And most importantly for my sports fandom, after a year of melancholy and malaise and medical malfunctions, LeBron James is the best player in the NBA and his team is a must-watch destination.
For all of those, I am thankful.
(Read more: Times Free Press staffers share what they're grateful for this holiday season)
So long
I think a lot about my parents - Mom died Oct. 2, 2016; Dad died Aug. 7, 2018 - during the holidays.
They created a home that everyone loved to visit, and we hosted every holiday. My blessed wife and I have tried to recreate that sentiment at the 5-at-10 compound.
It's part of the lessons, I guess, that they left in me.
And with each passing month and each passing, I realize what you leave behind that truly counts is not in a will or decided in probate court.
It's the lasting legacies and impressions and examples we set and convey. It's more intentions than items, more innate than inheritance.
I am thankful for their example and for the wisdom to embrace that - as a guide in life and as a blueprint to help guide the lives of those important to me.
New habits
There was a time I was a pretty good golfer. Loved to play and loved the never-ending chase at improvement.
Well, then came the tots and their love of sports, and my love of coaching them in whatever they wanted to try (with the exception of soccer, because, to quote Sgt. Schultz, "I know nothing."
Well, that is starting to wind down as they get older and either play at higher levels or find other interests.
Which has led me to my new passion. Gang, I am greatly enjoying learning how to cook new things and cook familiar things even better.
I am grateful for passion, in whichever form it takes in this life.
This and that
- If you are looking for the weekly picks, they are here.
- If you are looking for my A2 Thanksgiving column, it is here.
- Chas noted this on Wednesday, but the donations continue to flow for the Stephen F. Austin player who hit the game-winner against Duke. Cool story.
- And yes, the NFL picks are in the above link, but you have to feel pretty good if you took the Bears at minus-3 with the announcement that undrafted rookie David Blough is starting at QB for the Lions. That line is up to Bears minus-6 this morning.
- Rest easy, Gary Marcus. I've known you almost all of my life. Margot, you are in my prayers.
Today's questions
What are you thankful for, other than family and health? Feel free to share, since this place is as much about you guys and gals as anything else.
Also, have you sent in a mailbag question? If not, why not?
As for today, well, Nov. 28, let's review:
Jon Stewart is 57 today, and in some ways I can make an argument that his excellent and highly successful "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" was a big part of the push that led to the downfall of the modern news. (Quickly, "The Daily Show" became a phenomenon among its generation, which sadly started to believe his humorous and opinionated slants on topics of the day were actual news reporting. The popularity - especially among that coveted demographic - made other news producers look for ways to make their news broadcasts similarly popular, and rather than telling better stories or doing better reporting, they followed the opinion form. And now we're here. It's not Stewart's or his show's fault, mind you. It's how our populace interpreted it and how the other decision makers followed the model.)
Also, Ed Harris is 69 today.
Rushmore of Ed Harris movies, because there are not a lot of turkeys on his IMDB page. (See what I did there, Spy?)
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I need to get back to cooking.