Wednesday, December 8, 2010

A Real Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving Day around noon, Chico and I, finding the preparations for the festivities well in hand, headed down to the beach to allow the cooks room to express their creativity, and to enjoy the day.  It was there on the beach, for that sun-drenched hour of wind and crashing surf, that I truly had Thanksgiving. 
We walked and sat on the beach grass, then walked some more.  I agreed to spend extra time on the beach given the beautiful nature of the day, and he agreed to spend less time trying to sneakily unearth and eat mummified, sand-encrusted and spawned out salmon (which is probably exactly what he is doing in the photo above).

All the while I thought about all the things I had to be thankful for (I'm not sure what he was thinking about, but it probably involved food or chasing foxes, his two primary obsessions - or perhaps I should give him more credit, he may have been pondering the very same things as I .  . . )

In no particular order, and doubtless with many ommissions, these are a few of the things I silently gave thanks for that morning on the beach.  My loving wife and best friend who was back on the house pouring her heart into making the Thanksgiving meal as perfect as possible - I really can't say enough about her and definitely don't deserve her; my parents, who always encouraged my hobbies and interests, and instilled in me a blue collar work ethic that has always served me well; my sons - I am so proud of the young men they have become, so intelligent, interesting, hard-working, honest and kind-hearted; my brother, always doing everything a little bit better than I do, setting such a great example of what it means to be a man, always there for everyone in the family; my older sister who stepped up when my Mom passed away and worries about us all like a surrogate mother hen - such an amazing mother in her own right, teacher and friend; my baby sister, who is like a beautiful, wild, mysterious creature that I don't fully understand yet love unconditionally; my friends - friends on the island that make me laugh and are there for me always, friends I have met over the years on-line yet never met who are just as there for me, friends who touched my life briefly and lost touch, friends from around the world who are always welcome in my home.

I'm thankful to have a good job in today's economy, for a company that is doing something important.  I love the fishing industry - when I was a deckhand on a salmon gillnetter, it felt wonderful to pick those shiny sockeyes and cohos from the net and carefully layer them in ice, brailer after brailer, getting dog tired but feeding people.  I worked processing black cod in Nikiski, herring in Bristol Bay, and now out here in the Aleutians, the grand daddy fishery of them all, where boats pull up to the dock with a million pounds of pollock at a time.  Crab gets all the press, but it is pollock that pays the bills, and for the bill paying I am thankful.

I am thankful for these United States of America, most especially the great states of Maine and Alaska where I have spent the majority of my 47 years.  Both states have been good to me - Maine was a wonderful place to grow up, and living in Alaska for almost 23 years has been wonderful, giving me more to be thankful for everytime I look out the window.

There is, of course, a lot more to mention but I'm going to get this posted as I have several more posts in my head I need to get out!  Cheers everyone!

7 comments:

TwoYaks said...

Chico is handsome dog as always. But I love that last picture!

bea's blog said...

Thanx for sharing all those lovely pix with us!
Would love to walk there with my dog, too!!!
Seems we have much more snow here in Germany right now then you have up in the North?!!?
We celebrate Thanksgiving here in a very different manner, this means hardly, but we look ahead to a contemplative Christmas now.
.★.★.★.
Beatrice

Capt. Schmoe said...

Contemplation of the many gifts that we have been given is good for the soul.

Thanksgiving has evolved into that kind of holiday for me, an assessment of what I have been blessed with and how I can appreciate it more.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, hope things continue to be well for you.

Suzassippi said...

One of the things I appreciate about you (and your writing and pictures) is how genuine you are, and your appreciation for simple things that are so very much more important than things many people value. It's like seeing the value of the inter-workings of the universe through your eyes, and you make my life richer. Blessings to you and Kelly and Chico as this year ends and another soon begins.

Susan Stevenson said...

Gorgeous photos! Hard to believe you're not buried in snow like we are here in the interior.

Great to see Chico too!

Susan in North Pole

Bren said...

I just wanted to ditto everything Suzassippi said...
I appreciate you and your writing and pictures. You and your appreciation for simple things that are so very much more important than things many people value. It's like seeing the value of the inter-workings of the universe through your eyes, and you make my life richer. Blessings to you and Kelly and Chico as this year ends and another soon begins.
with love

Lori said...

I ditto Suzassippi and Bren - and even though we have never met, I too am thankful for your friendship and your wonderful blog. I have told you many of times that you inspire me and you make me appreciate the "little" more simplier things in life. Thank you too for all your wonderful pictures.

May you and Kelly have a blessed holiday season.

Your friend in Florida, Lori