Editorial: Our brief 2016 list of Thanksgiving
We hope your family approaches the holiday table with a list of Thanksgiving. Simply compiling it does much to honor the blessings on it. Here are a few of the things on our 2016 list:
We're thankful for our liberty.
We're thankful for the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre.
We're thankful to live in a Space Age that allows us to understand the universe with a depth no previous generation could imagine.
We're thankful to live at a time that provides medical miracles far beyond the reach of our ancestors.
We're thankful for tolerance and empathy.
We're thankful for House of Cards.
We're thankful that Uncle Buck is off the air.
We're thankful we can still watch Breaking Bad even though it's off the air.
We're thankful for Better Call Saul because it links us to Breaking Bad even though it's not quite as good.
Besides, we're thankful for Bob Odenkirk of Naperville, too.
We're thankful for the Independence Grove Forest Preserve.
We're thankful for our family.
We're thankful Leonard Cohen still lives in his music.
We're thankful for teachers who encourage our children to think and to pursue their dreams.
We're thankful for police, who risk their lives to protect ours.
We're thankful for newspapers. And not just because we work at one.
We're thankful for Ravinia.
We're thankful for Shelter, Inc. And for WINGS.
We're thankful for parents who crusade against drugs.
We're thankful for the Spring Valley Nature Center.
We're thankful for trees - and for light shows that make them look spectacular.
We're thankful for Carter Bailey, a Barrington cancer survivor who's organizing blood and bone marrow donor drives to help others.
We're thankful for the Arcada Theater and its dedication to the music Baby Boomers grew up with.
We're thankful for DVRs so we can re-watch Game 7 whenever we want.
We're tearful but thankful we were able to place a pennant on the graves of Cubs fans who never stopped believing in next year's possibilities.
While we're at it, we're thankful for Bruce Miles too.
We're thankful for our hospitals. And for the people who work in them.
We're thankful for Meryl Streep.
We're thankful for people who follow the Golden Rule.
We're thankful for cat videos.
We're thankful for the Paddock family's steadfast devotion to journalism.
We're thankful for The Believe Project.
We're thankful for Hemmens Cultural Center.
We're thankful for our parents' advice.
We're thankful that our children are fundamentally good even when we can't quite figure them out.
We're thankful for WKRP in Cincinnati because as God is our witness, we thought turkeys could fly.
We're eternally thankful for bacon.
We're thankful for the bike trails and bike lanes and efforts to complete links among them.
We're thankful for blue skies and good weather.
We're thankful for love.
We're thankful for the readers who invite us into their homes.
We are thankful to have reached this day, and this season.
We are thankful that this is just the beginning of our list.