Happy Thanksgiving :)

Aloha,

Today is my 15th (out of 20 chances) to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Sure, it took me five years, but I get it now :)

Basically, I think of Thanksgiving in three different ways.

Below is a Thanksgiving CardPost made especially to you...

The theme is the classic, "LOVE, LAUGH, LOVE."


Love to you and yours...and Happy Thanksgiving!


                                                                             ##



LIVE:

                                                                             ###



LOVE:

                                                                        
                                                                            













###

LAUGH:

 
 
 

 
 
 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

PS: If you don't celebrate this US holiday, feel free to punch a colleague's shoulder and reflect on 2014's best memories :)

Reasons to be Thankful...

Aloha,

It’s always interesting when I meet new people for the first time.

They hear my Oirish accent, subdued, but always there, and I’m often asked if I’m from ____ and then it’s normally, “Like, dude… why did you come here?”

That story is shared elsewhere, but I always finish the above with a feeling of gratitude.

It’s not so much how I got here, but that I am here – and I am so deeply thankful to God and his many mercies that brought me here in January 1996.

It’s fair to assume that I’ve celebrated every one of the seventeen Thanksgiving holidays since I arrived, but my first AHA! Thanksgiving was actually my fifth. (Details here.)  

Now I find myself calling home or friends overseas to wish them a happy Thanksgiving and they’re all like, “Dude, it’s just Thursday.”

But, it’s not, is it?

Thanksgiving is – now that I get it – a time to (hopefully) catch up with family, break some bread, and maybe some heads… depending on how the annual arguments develop!

I’d like to share some reasons why I’m thankful:

 

 

·         Father “Al Diaz” Dragon (I think it’s simply delicious that Al’s name is now his nickname) put a huge amount of effort into his latest post and offered up a tribute to many of his Blogger friends.

I was honored to be included in the Dragon Hall of Fame, especially as I’ve lately spiraled out of writing control. To receive this boost of confidence from Al is something I can – and will – really hold on and grab with both hands.

·         I’m also thankful for the smaller things in life. For example, today I played with my three boys in the silly little plastic swimming pool we have sitting in our backyard.

Three sons, one sun - this past Sunday

 

·         As I hosed the pool down, I realized it’s the end of November and many families have battened down the hatches for winter. We are so blessed to live here in Hawaii.

·         I’m thankful for the men and women, including my wife, who serve our country and allow me and so many others the freedom to blog as we want.

·         And, I’m thankful to you, my blogging buddies, because no matter what happens in the future, I know I am a better writer, and more importantly, a better husband, father and friend because of the relationships that have grown through knowing many of you.

Dragon-related pictures courtesy of Father Dragon :)

Happy Thanksgiving, if you’re celebrating, and if not, Happy “It’s Just Thursday.”

Happy Thanksgiving from a non-Twinkie eater

Aloha,

Johanna Garth wrote a great Thanksgiving post titled Twinkie Americana, and my comments to her became the foundation for this post, so thanks for provoking my thoughts, Johanna and you can read the full post here.

(The rest of this post will make more sense if you read hers first J)

Johanna finishes her post with a comment and a question:

“Of course, this is all silly. There is no definitive list of characteristics about what makes the perfect American, but still, on the eve of our lovely national tradition of giving thanks, I'm wondering about the rest of you. Are you old school, Twinkies, baseball games and cowboy hats or is the apple in your Americana an icon on a computer?

For the curious (or insomniacs) the story behind my first Thanksgiving is here.

This year, I’ll be celebrating ten years of Thanksgivings with my wife’s family

(you’d think they would have learned by nowJ)

and I have to admit Thanksgiving is now my favorite holiday.



Off to take Thanksgiving Family Pictures

(As I write, the house is full of screaming kids, loud televisions and kitchen overhead fans as a multitude of dishes are either being prepped or made ahead of Thursday.)



As a naturalized American, I have *never* eaten a Twinkie, but I remember reading about them it seemed like in every Stephen King book when I was a teenager and - true story - when I came over in '96, one of the first things I bought was a Twinkie... and with tears in my eyes, I held that thing in my hand, turning it over and over and couldn't believe I was HERE.

Thanks for the memory zap, Johanna... I haven't thought about that Twinkie in years (and I didn't even eat it because I'm not a "sweets" person.)

To answer Johanna's questions in a couple of one liners:
I have a Stetson (bought in Colorado :)
I love baseball - especially T-ball (No. 1 Son has just started:)
Apple pie rocks - but only at the holidays

And while America is never perfect, it is still the land of the free, the home of the brave... and the place where dreams can come true :)

 Happy Thanksgiving y’all :)

It's my first Thanksgiving... wonder what the bunny will bring?

 

Thanksgiving: What's Your Story?

Aloha,

I wasn't born in America; I just got here as fast as I could.

(I know it’s a cheesy line, but it’s the holidays!)

For my first five Thanksgivings, ('96 to '00) I didn’t care about the holiday, so I volunteered to work at my restaurant, allowing other managers some quality time with their family.

Then, all of a sudden, I found myself working for a place that was closed for Thanksgiving.

And, I didn't know what to do with myself.

(I was new to California and had no friends or family close by.)

A running buddy of mine, also from Ireland, found out my situation while at a dinner party the night before Thanksgiving.

"Hang on a second," says Brian.

He grabs his phone, makes a quick call, and passes the phone to me.

"It's for you."

"What...?"

"Hello, Mark? Yes, this is Brian's mother, Pauline. Brian tells me you've nowhere to go for Thanksgiving?"

"No, ma'am..."

"Right you are, then. Dinner is served at 3 p.m., and just bring yourself."

 

CLICK!

"Your mother just hung up on me," I said to Brian, who was smiling like that Cheshire Cat.

"That's me ma."

Needless to say, I had an absolutely wonderful time at their house, where they made me feel like one of the family. And it was inside that small, loving home that I finally "got" the meaning of Thanksgiving.

My life has changed (as it does) and now my wife and two kids are looking forward to spending another Thanksgiving with some new and old friends.

But, I'll never forget that first one, and whenever we are hosting and I find a "homeless" friend, I always pay it forward by inviting them to join us. It doesn’t cost anything, and it’s not as if we were going to finish the turkey for weeks.

(Footnote... a month after I first met Pauline and her family, she was back on the phone with me on Christmas Eve.)

I was getting ready to have a quiet Christmas. Pauline had other ideas...

No prizes for where I was at 3 p.m. Christmas Day!

What's your top memory of Thanksgiving, and if you could invite one extra person (living or deceased) to the table who would it be?

(My invitation would go to the late U.S. Army Major Dick Winters, former CO of Easy Company – of “Band of Brothers” fame.)
 

Maj. Richard "Dick" Winters