I've received a handful of positive comments since this appeared about
three weeks ago, and perhaps it might be appreciated by one or more
people in the newsgroup.

Happy Turkey Day to All!

*********


A Boater's Thanksgiving

"Thanks" is a word we use to acknowledge a gift, or the receipt of
something we had no right to expect to be automatically granted. It has
long been an American tradition to set aside a day after the harvest
has been gathered in to reflect upon our good fortune and relative
abundance. The very first Thanksgiving "feast" was actually a
three-day harvest festival declared in 1641. The surviving portion of
that group of English Separatists, their servants, their mercenary
security force, and the business representatives of the London
stockholders that financed the voyage to American formed a community we
commonly refer to as "The Pilgrims." After an initial winter of
disease and starvation, the community planted crops and eventually
reaped a bountiful harvest. It is of no small significance that the
Pilgrims shared their feast and celebration with the local natives.
While some of the most avidly religious may have given God exclusive
credit for the overflowing larders, perhaps the majority recognized
that the Almighty was at least ably assisted by practical forestry and
farming advice offered to the strange white tribe by friendly natives.

"Thanksgiving," as a holiday, has waxed and waned throughout
American history.
George Washington proclaimed a "national day of thanksgiving" in
1789, despite strident opposition from a group that felt the hardships
of some early settlers didn't justify the expense and loss of
productivity associated with a national holiday. President Thomas
Jefferson flatly refused to proclaim a day of national thanksgiving.
Magazine editor Sarah Hale waged a 40-year campaign to establish a
national Thanksgiving holiday, and finally in 1863 succeeded in
persuading Abraham Lincoln to declare the last Thursday in November as
Thanksgiving Day. Every president following Lincoln declared an annual
day of Thanksgiving, until in 1941 Congress passed legislation
establishing the last Thursday in November as a permanent, statutory,
national holiday.

I have a lot of reasons to be thankful. As a boater, I am thankful
every time "Indulgence" reaches her destination safely. I am
thankful for my wife, and her saintly patience, without whom there
would be no meaningful reason to go boating, (or do most anything
else). I am thankful for my healthy and capable children, as well the
positive choices they have made in the early stages of their
professional careers. I'm thankful for my parents, siblings, in-laws,
and extended family. I am thankful to have more friends (probably a lot
more) than I deserve, maybe enough money to almost "get by" in an
eventual retirement, and reasonably good health. I'm even lucky
enough to be thankful for my "job." (It would be wonderful to be
able to be thankful for good looks as well, but it would be ungrateful
to be greedy). All of these things I am thankful for are on a long list
of gifts I had no right to expect to be automatically granted.

As boaters in the Pacific Northwest, we enjoy a lot of special gifts as
well. Although we may grump and complain about frequently dark skies
and rain showers for the next few months, we can be thankful to live in
a climate where it's possible to enjoy boating during at least some
weekends in every month on the calendar. We can be thankful for
glaciers that advanced and receded about 10,000 years ago to create
Puget Sound as well our protected Inside Passage to Alaska. We can be
thankful for the men and women of our armed forces, the USCG, and local
law enforcement and fire fighters who defend our privilege to own
pleasure boats or stand ready to come to our assistance when required.

Perhaps as much as any other gift or blessing, Pacific Northwest
boaters can be thankful for one another. When I reflect on some of the
most memorable times we have enjoyed on the water, it is the presence
of good friends or new acquaintances that is remembered most fondly of
all. It's often a previously unmet fellow boater that is first on the
scene to unselfishly assist during a major or minor crisis, and we
continue to maintain a sense of community that is increasingly rare in
this age of individual isolation. One of my personal opinions has long
been, "The best thing about boats is that they bring people
together." For our families, our friends, our boats, and the immense
privilege of living in the best boating environment on the planet
it's entirely appropriate for most boaters to observe a day of
Thanksgiving, 365 times a year.