Thanksgiving

Ya know, it's dadblamed amazin'.

Not that gobble day is here already, but that there's some folks who only say thanks once a year.

Only a country with more of what you need than you can ever use could reduce its gratitude to a single day. Only when people are dead sure of havin' everything we need can there be an absence of appreciation for what we have.

Now I've ridden enough miles to know that not everyone enjoys the same level of material wealth. That the heels of some folks boots are worn down farther than some others.

But I do know that every American enjoys the important stuff.

Life.   Liberty.   The pursuit of happiness.

Freedom.

Elements so basic and fundamental to our existence as Americans that most folks rarely ponder them, or consider what it takes to keep 'em.

Hangin' my spurs in Las Vegas provides some interesting contrasts... it's what them city slickers call a "juxtaposition".

On the one hand, luxury and over-the-top plenty is as close as the nearest megaresort.

Massive buffets, fountains in the desert, replicas of cities far away. All available for one and all. Created with no expense spared for us to enjoy.

On the other hand, there's the constant scream of fighter jets coming or going from Nellis and Creech Air Force bases. America’s young airmen training and practicing the skills it takes to insure our ability to enjoy and pass on that plenty. Sparing no expense, including the ultimate sacrifice, to insure we continue to enjoy our freedoms.

Just contemplatin' those two different definitions of "sparing no expense" should make ya sit a little taller in the saddle.

In these times, it’s easy for folks to use Thanksgiving as a way to bulk up for that shopping marathon known as Black Friday.

Hopefully, family, friends, and loved ones will be around your campfire. And maybe one will offer a brief prayer of Thanksgiving before the chuck wagon gets demolished.

Some hands will pause, and give thanks for those who have served, or are serving, in our armed forces around the world. The ones who do what they must do so that we can do what we wish to do. They are living proof that God has clearly blessed America.

But somewhere between the beans and the pie, take a moment and give thanks for a group most have long forgotten.

Seventy four folks who created the opportunity we all enjoy today. Seventy four wranglers representing thirteen colonies at the first Constitutional Convention.

A ragtag bunch of commoners who, through the grace of God, created the most important document in the history of man.

The Constitution of the United States.

A contentious group of patriots who were able to come to fundamental agreement on what this country should be, and create a document that says how to keep it that way even centuries later.

A document that lays out specific, fundamental principles essential to a free citizenry. A document that clearly separates the United States from every other country on the planet.

 Created by patriots who risked much so that we may have much.

And this cowpoke thanks God they did.

We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights. ~Felix Frankfurter

"There must be more to life than having everything." Maurice Sendak