Ketcham: Giving Thanks 365 Days a Year

To the Editor:

The Thanksgiving holiday gives us all the opportunity to step back from the blessings we so often take for granted, in order to recognize and appreciate them anew.  By current standards, the first Thanksgiving for the Pilgrims and Indians was a simple one: to give thanks for a harvest of food that would sustain life through a harsh New England winter… a winter without electricity, central heat, running water, grocery stores or malls for warm clothing.  They didn’t know what they lacked, and took time to give thanks for what they did have.

Theirs is a model worth emulating.  How many of us so recently deprived of heat, lights, and water focused on the blessings we had remaining: our homes, local family and friends and worldly possessions intact?  For Redding residents who did, October 30 was a true Thanksgiving day. As access to the news returned we learned that far too many south of us were not as lucky.

So on this official Thanksgiving Day, November 22nd, let us look beyond the bountiful spread on our well-lit tables to remember its symbolism: give thanks for whatever you have, and then give help to those who have less.

We’d be well served if our calendars contained 365 days of thanksgiving.

Natalie Ketcham

Redding First Selectman