Help others have a nice Thanksgiving

It seems everybody but the turkey is getting excited about Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Some people will be gathering for a Thanksgiving feast before heading back home to work on Friday.

Luckier ones linger on the threshold of a four-day weekend, kicking off the joyous Christmas holiday season.

We find Thanksgiving a bittersweet time, an opportunity to gain perspective on our many bounties by observing what so many other people do not have.

Most of you reading this are far better off than some of your brethren. That you can afford a newspaper subscription is only the start of it. You've got a safe place to read, good enough vision to decipher this print, and an education that allows you to understand and consider these words.

Some financial security, good health and a good education.

Three powerful blessings.

But these are not the things we'll focus on the most tomorrow.

Nor will a competitive football game, formulation of a shopping battle plan Friday, or good-natured debate about which is better for the Thanksgiving meal, turkey or ham.

Our Thanksgiving focus will be zeroed in on the greatest of all blessings, the one which, in its absence, can mean the difference between happiness in life and sorrow.

It's family. It's the faces peering up from plates around the dinner table, from the grinning grandkids to dear old Uncle Bob, whose sudden mid-day naps always threaten to plant his peaceful countenance right smack in the middle of the mashed potato bowl.

For others, it's also friends, people from work, people from outside activities, people owning some part of the heart.

And, sadly for some, tomorrow will be a stinging reminder of being alone. Loved ones lost, family or friends committed to be elsewhere — loneliness wears many faces.

A quick poll shows there are a lot of local people who will be alone during the holiday season. Maybe you can be on the lookout for them and see what you can do to turn a lonely frown upside down.

A smile, a kind word, a graceful gesture.

These are great blessings, too.