I am truly THANKFUL on this THANKSGIVING DAY...

[Blackhorse]

Aside from a loving family surrounding me today, I am thankful for the many friends I have made on his site. You all are the finest bunch of characters with whom I could ever want to spend my time.

Next week I’ll turn the corner on 70 years which is something I never thought I’d do. I continue in reasonable health for my age. My numerous conditions, complaints, illnesses, syndromes and maladies are pretty well controlled by the medications I take on a daily basis. So I’ll also throw out a second big THANKS to doctors...mine as well as yours. Perhaps of interest, I grew up in a medical family. My dad was an M.D. He served during WWII - went into North Africa with a Field Hospital unit, then up through Italy and eventually into France. He then practiced for the rest of his life as a real “Country Doctor” in rural Oregon. Quite a different world than we know today. I too served in the Army’s Medical Corps, in Vietnam Nam and stateside. Then numerous years in as the only male nurse in an SICU. And having spent much of my life around medical folks of all kinds I can honestly say their professions are among the most noble. Again, as fine a population as there is anywhere.

Early this year I donated to a Go Fund Me thing for a local State Trooper who was hit by five bullets by a killer during a gun battle along a state highway. He took out the killer, saving the lives of numerous citizens. Many surgeries later he is still recovering. So my third and last big THANK YOU goes out to all the first responders out there putting their lives on the line every day so that all of us can lead safe lives.

That’s my BIG THREE this Thanksgiving Day. Do you see a big similarity? All of ‘em are groups of people that are the best among us. People caring for and helping other people.

How about y’all? Any somethin’ somethin’ that you care to give a shout out about? If so, this is the thread and today’s the day.

 

[Carlos]

"Grummmmmmble..................Where the heck is the Like button?"



Happy Thanksgiving All! :sunny:

 

[Blackhorse]

Oh! And DOGS. A big THANKS for dogs. Cats you can have...they’re all pretty dang sketchy. But DOGS? Yeah, they’re special friends to us all.

 

[mark]

Family and friends,,,although some of them are a pain in the butt, most of them show up when the SHTF.

Freedom,,,say what you will and grumble all you want, there's no place better than the land of the free and home of the brave.

Gotta agree with Blackhorse on the dogs. Special friends.

I hope your day is a pleasant one.

 

[Blackhorse]

Oh! And PIE! Thankful for the pie. Pecan, Apple, Pumpkin, Chocolate Cream, Marionberry, Lemon...love ‘em all. And the Whipped and/or Ice Cream that goes with ‘em. Yeah Baby. God bless the pie.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Thankful for my wife and 2 granddaughters, who we are raising and who, for all practical purposes, are my daughters. We have had them eleven years this spring, been their legal guardians for ten years now. I'm rather old to be doing this all over again (already raised three of my own before these two came along) and on a great many days all that entails raising daughters simply overwhelms and wears me out. But I wouldn't have it any other way, I'm blessed. My wife recently had a heart attack and underwent heart surgery and has pulled through like a champ. There's been a whole lot of 'Grateful for my family' lately.

Thankful for my job. It is hard and stressful with long hours and I'm getting to the point where, at my age, I'm wondering just how much longer I can continue doing it, but it pays rather well and has wonderful benefits and honestly my family would suffer greatly without it. For this job, and for the ability to keep doing it against the odds, I am truly grateful.

I'm all for being thankful for pie and dogs too

 

[Ozark Wizard]

I guess I'm thankful for each new day. Each one is full of opportunities, lessons, dogs and potential for pie. Some days are fire, some the hammer, and others quenching. All together they make me a finer piece, sharper, stronger.

The folks here, and elsewhere, all play integral parts in this show as well, whether hero's or villains, or somewhere in between. I see something of myself in everyone.

Thanks folks, and happy Thanksgiving!

 

[Jevverrett]

I’m thankful for all the blessings God saw fit to rain down on me this year. A lot of great things have happened in my life and in my family that I am very grateful for.
My marriage to my wife, the birth of a new son, the opportunity to buy a new home and all the great things happening in our country this year. We have freedom, prosperity and hope for the first time in forever it seems. God bless you all, and the U.S.A. Happy thanksgiving fellas (and ladies)

 

[Thistleoak]

I'm thankful for my Wife and Kids and the rest of my family. I'm Thankful for all the creator has given me, both the good and the bad. The good for obvious reasons, the bad for helping to mold me into what I am. I'm thankful for the friends and family I have made here on the BoB. Love and Blessings to you all. I give thanks to unknown blessings already on their way.

 

[Blackhorse]

Thistleoak sez...”I give thanks to unknown blessings already on their way.”


Now THERE is a great attitude! Reminds me of...For I know the plans I have for you, hope and a future...or something close.

 

[SteelyJ]

I'm thankful that the FDA hasn't started really cracking down on pipe tobaccos yet.

 

[Thistleoak]

Thistleoak sez...”I give thanks to unknown blessings already on their way.”


Now THERE is a great attitude!  Reminds me of...For I know the plans I have for you, hope and a future...or something close.

It was Chief Seattle who gets credit for that one, I just know I started living that code when I got my second chance... Almost snuffing it makes a man think :cheers:

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Thistleoak sez...”I give thanks to unknown blessings already on their way.”


Now THERE is a great attitude!  Reminds me of...For I know the plans I have for you, hope and a future...or something close.

It was Chief Seattle who gets credit for that one, I just know I started living that code when I got my second chance... Almost snuffing it makes a man think :cheers:

Ah, snuffing. Yes, like the first time I tried a mentholated SG snuff. Seemed like it took forever to get my left eye back in it's socket. Definitely makes one think about one's attitude towards the future!

Dying, on the other hand, seems to happen as regularly as living. That glorious threshold moment stepping through between the realms always got my thoughts racing! Sometimes I wonder how I'll go the next time, either into life or death. What scene, act, and if there are new players, or just the same ones in different costumes.....

 

[Thistleoak]

Dying, on the other hand, seems to happen as regularly as living. That glorious threshold moment stepping through between the realms always got my thoughts racing! Sometimes I wonder how I'll go the next time, either into life or death. What scene, act, and if there are new players, or just the same ones in different costumes....

This is why we are friends.

 

[Brewdude]

And I am truly thankful for several important things, to me anyway.

Being involved in a career that has spanned almost 30 years now, and one which I have a passion for even after all this time. It's been worth all the aggro and sacrifice. Sadly that will be coming to a close shortly as I plan to retire relatively soon.

My other passion is the pursuit of music - playing, creating, recording, and sharing it. While many of my past contemporaries have traded in their blue suede shoes long ago for whatever reason, I feel blessed to be able to continue to create and not be encumbered with the physical maladies that sometimes accompany.

Yes, I'm also grateful for my health. While I do have some issues they are under control. I'm continually reminded of those that are less fortunate and at a younger age as well.

Finally, I'm grateful for the interaction of all here on the board over the years. Thanks for putting up with me.

I also love dogs, just don't have one right now. That will change after retirement and relocation.

:afro:



Cheers,

RR

 

[kaitlyn3837]

I appreciated reading what you all are grateful for!

A day late, but I appreciate my family and the year I have had. It's had it's ups and downs but I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be refurbishing pipes full time from home. It's been a great year and I find myself stepping up to bigger things as this year starts to draw to a close.

 

[Richard Burley]

I'm thankful for the Enlightenment, and always will be. I'm thankful I was born into the nation of the Enlightenment. I think that nation is coasting in the fading afterglow, to mix metaphors, but I'll take it, warts and all, real or imagined.

 

[Stick]

A bit of Transatlantic Thanks giving...

Each morning I wake up and my family is happy, healthy, has a roof over our heads and food in our belly... well that's a day to celebrate. Compared to many in the world, we are extremely fortunate.

I discuss this with my children on pretty much a daily basis as I'm driving them to school (something else that I'm thankful for) through the beautiful 'shire that we live in, and on occasions when they become less than content with their lot, I show them pictures of kids on rubbish tips in India (e.g.) and we discuss what we see. I find that grounds them pretty well.

Yup, lots to be thankful for.

Happy (belated) thanks giving to you fine chaps / chapettes across the pond.

 

[Deleted member 2386]

Really appreciated reading this thread--big ups to Blackhorse for getting things rolling so eloquently, and everyone for packing more joy onto the snowball of gratitude. This Thanksgiving stirred up my own sense of sentiment, starting with the arrival of this picture:



My buddy John texted me this shot of him sitting out on Thanksgiving with the Amorelli pipe I got him when I was in Florence a couple of years ago. John and I were friends and neighbors when we both lived in Colorado for a five year span or so, and it was a really great time in my life--he properly introduced me to the worlds of cigars and Scotch, and I introduced him to pipes and homebrewing. Neither of us had family in-state so we'd always have Thanksgiving together, and after dinner (or before or both) we'd enjoy pipes and a dram or three. One year he'd picked up a tin of Christmas Cheer at the Edwards in Denver and we popped that...and lo, a tradition was born, with one or the other of us cracking a tin of CC on Thanksgiving.

...A tradition that only lasted a couple of years, unfortunately, before I moved out of state. But while it lasted it really exemplified everything I love about Thanksgiving--savoring rare and tasty treats, of course, but most importantly the companionship. It's not just about spending time with the people you care about, whether they're blood relations or the family you choose for yourself, but spending unhurried time with them, which is hard for me as a self-employed neurotic to let myself do. Those Thanksgivings, though, were just concentrated relaxation and companionship--one year it was nice and sunny so we sat out all day sipping pecan pie porter, and another year we had to bundle up like iditarod mushers with steaming mugs of Irish coffee, but it was always a special time.

So getting this text from John on Thanksgiving made a lovely holiday even better, and having recently scored my own Amorelli at the Seattle Slow Smoke competition, I was inspired to join him in a bowl, albeit remotely. In the interest of full disclosure I didn't have any Christmas Cheer on hand this year, so settled for Blackwoods Flake to get that McClelland ginny kick, and told John to smoke enough CC for both of us. Texting back and forth wasn't exactly the same as hanging out in person, of course, but it was damned nice and relaxing, and a warm reminder of merry holidays past. We talked about getting together again one of these years for an old school Colorado Thanksgiving, and in the meantime I'm thankful to live in an age where even living across the country from one another we're able to carry on our casual tradition...Which I never really thought about as being a tradition before, but then I suppose all of them start off accidentally enough, but we keep them going because of the joy they bring.

So here's to carrying on great traditions, making new ones with our friends and families, and insuring they evolve as our lives change instead of just dying out!

 

[Blackhorse]

Thanks One and all for your additions. Well done.