Tag Archives: chesterton

Thanx 2025

Posted on by under Generic Rant

Apropos to the day, and in keeping with a tradition I’ve maintained for the past few years, I herewith present my annual cryptic list of a small sampling of items I’m thankful for on this Thanksgiving week and always.

  • Andraé… still
  • Reconciliation
  • Keeping connections
  • The Fit
  • WPL
  • The Swytch and the throttle
  • Dropins
  • Small group
  • Problem solving sessions
  • Psalm 109:8
  • Bryan Stevenson and EJI
  • The Sudbury diamond
  • Mary
  • Luke
  • A day in Nahant
  • Failures that lead to victories
  • Humility
  • Godspell
  • Orchard logo
  • Calls out of the blue
  • Sending and receiving letters
  • This painting by my granddaughter:
  • W@H script & book
  • Peacock journal
  • Lemonade stands
  • Pizza lunch with the gang in person
  • Memories of Jeff, Ralph, and Yiayia
  • Adventures with little ones
  • 13.5 mph
  • The porch
  • “Ladies in Black”
  • “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”
  • Wes and the crew at VSHS
  • Father Brown
  • Memoirs
  • Bottom of the 33rd
  • Deconstruction
  • Ken Burns

God and family are implied, as always.

On the subject of gratitude, here are two of my favorite quotes on the topic from one of the most quotable people of all time, G. K. Chesterton:

  • “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
  • “The worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful and has no one to thank.”

Now a couple of thoughts from a lesser voice, me:

  • “Giving thanks is prayer for the past.”
  • “Generosity is gratitude in action.”

I hope and pray you have the most Grateful Thanksgiving ever. And that you have Someone to thank.

Neverending Thanx…

Posted on by under Generic Rant

Once more reviving my old “Thanx” posts. (See here for a full description of the genre.) Making a Thanksgiving post once a year on the eve of the holiday is wildly inadequate. As a friend recently told me, it should be thanksliving. He’s right. G. K. Chesterton was on target when he said,

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

In that spirit, I offer this woefully skimpy inventory, from the sublime to the ridiculous to the ridiculously sublime:

  1. God (Good start, huh?)
  2. My extended family (most of whom will be together on Thanksgiving)
  3. Eight years with St. Matthew
  4. Small and large groups
  5. Jigsaw puzzles
  6. Bucket list bike trips
  7. One good leg
  8. Unexpected encounters, calls, and visitors
  9. Grace
  10. Learning lessons, even the hard ones
  11. New City Microcreamery
  12. Isaiah predicting today’s news
  13. MS Cure is back in business!
  14. Burger Night at State Road
  15. Sitting on the beach in mid-November
  16. Ari’s grotto
  17. The trapeze and fear of transformation
  18. Ground Round Reunion
  19. Uncle Beef
  20. Nashoba Brook Bakery
  21. The Sheriff’s Meadow
  22. The blessing of generosity, no matter which end of it I’m on
  23. Lessons and Carols and Jenna
  24. Rosewater chicken sandwich and lemon pound cake
  25. Accessible vans
  26. Lexie’s Lemonade
  27. 45.5 years
  28. “The Quiet Girl”
  29. Answering the call
  30. Memory so bad that rereading books is a pleasure
  31. etc. etc. etc. …

Look, I know the great majority of these are obscure beyond reason, but they’re understood by the bless-ee and the bless-er and that’s all that really counts.

I wish you and yours a happy and grateful Thanksgiving!