Thanksgiving 2024 brings new president and fresh opportunities

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of the year, partially at a personal level. When I was young, we’d all get together up in Lewistown, Pennsylvania with my relatives, and we’d always have a big turkey. And very early on, I established that I got a turkey leg, and for me, back when I was 789, years of age, boy, that was amazing. And then paint relatives are a great cook. So whether you’re talking about pumpkin pie or apple pie, there’s a lot of good stuff, but Thanksgiving is about more than that. As you know, it’s a historic note, because Thanksgiving was celebrated by the pilgrims, who were so grateful that Native Americans had taught them how to farm the conditions we had in New England, which were very different than the conditions they’d faced in Europe. And it became a tradition. Thanksgiving Day proclamations were given by President Washington at the very founding of the country. They were given by President Lincoln. There’s a real sense that taking a day to say thanks, to recognize that all the good things we get from our Creator, we should be grateful, and we should, in fact, return thanks in prayer. This is a deep American tradition, and a good one. I think I also have to confess Thanksgiving became a day to watch football, and so, you know, we’d all get together, sit around, chat for a while, eat a huge meal, and alternate between falling asleep on the couch and watching the football game. Now we’ve had an election. We’re moving towards a new administration with new opportunities, I think, with a new level of economic growth, and I hope with a controlled border, safer streets and a less dangerous world, and we have a lot to give thanks for. As Americans, we have been endowed by God with a continent wide country with opportunities for people who come legally from everywhere in the world, and I hope that all of you will join me in saying thanks and in recognizing what a great gift we’ve been given to be Americans, to be free and have a chance to live a better future, and importantly, to give our children and grandchildren a chance to have a better future. So Happy Thanksgiving.