It is a gorgeous day in Denver. I have taken my meds, sucked down sufficient amounts of coffee and prattled on with a good friend about the state of our country. That requiem will be printed under a separate cover. Read at your own risk.

I am going to work the evening shift at Porter Hospice this PM. There will be 14-18 people on a road that to all is inevitable. They are brave. They are proud. Some might die this evening. Some maybe tomorrow. All in due time. They are very special people.

I just dropped my daughter and son in law off at the airport with their two young ones in tow. They really represent the other end of the spectrum with dreams and hopes for a bright world to come. As I drove home it felt good. This is a very positive side of life.

Many around the world do not celebrate Thanksgiving. The 900 million in China who will make no more than $1500 this year don‘t. The starving 12 million people in Africa don‘t. They will bind their stomachs to reduce the pain. They are dropping dead on 50 mile treks to refugee camps.

The Syrians, the Libyans, the Egyptians, the Somalians, and the North Koreans don’t. Not the Japanese who were devastated by earthquakes and tsunamis. Not the Turks who have been digging out of a catastrophe for a month. Funny how you can forget when the news stories die out.

Three billion people or half the world’s population live on less than $2 a day. 1.6 billion have no electricity. 2.6 billion have no access to fresh water and sanitation facilities. 3900 kids die every day from some sort of waterborne illness.

15,000 people are homeless in Denver tonight. The weather is temperate and they should be fine for the next few days. In my house the lights are on. The temperature is subject to my comfort levels. I am cutting down on my eating so I can lose a little weight. I am going to the Fridge to get a glass of ice cold water.

This isn’t an ad for CARE or Feed The Children. Some may say if those Africans and Chinese and Indians would stop having babies, then there wouldn’t be all this hunger and strife. Those people act like savages and just rape and kill each other. And you know in a lot of ways they are probably right. But at least in my heart I can’t write them off.

I took a long walk yesterday and passed a school yard of kids, probably ages 4-7. As I groused to myself about the Super Committee, I thought these kids have no idea. They are just playing and laughing and enjoying life. It is not complicated. They love one another whether white, black, brown or yellow. There no Republicans or Democrats. Conservatives or Liberals…Yet.

Maybe sometimes I think too much. People say why do you want to bring that crap up for anyway? After all the traveling we have done, I guess I really feel like a citizen of the world, the United States, the state of Colorado, and the city of Denver. I feel a compulsive urge to try in any way I can to solve problems, not create them. For me. For my kids. For my grandkids. For you.

Sometime today, tomorrow or at least over the weekend I am going really say thanks. I might sit in a chair or kneel down. I am going to try to make sense of things. I really am lucky and it is not just an idle thought that looks good on paper. I feel it inside.

I am going to think of those that have passed on. I will thank them for all they taught me. I will worry about friends and family who are having a hard time. Some have broken hearts. Others broken dreams. Others just can’t get it right with life. It’s so hard but also very doable. I hope they make it.

That’s it. Enough philosophizing. I am going to take another walk today and will think of all of you. I will make believe we are all playing on that playground. Young. Without a care. Hey! I can dream can’t I?

As always

Ted The Great

Factoids:

-The first Thanksgiving in 1621 lasted for three days…until they ran  out of Alka Seltzer. There wasn’t a second one.

-Mashed Sweet Potato is the most popular side dish.

-Turkeys have been around this earth for ten million years. And we thought Congress started the breeding cycle.

-In an adult turkey there are over 3500 feathers

-Americans eat 535 million pounds of turkey.

-In the beginning many states fought Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday because they felt the government was exercising too much influence on their lives.

-Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul want to outlaw it. Perry says please repeat the question. Romney isn’t sure yet. And Cain says is the turkey male or female?

-The Democrats want a turkey in every pot. That’s after a week in Cabo as guests of the turkey lobby. Same old, Same old.