From the Crow’s Nest
by CLINT YOUNTS
With Thanksgiving just days away, causing plump turkeys and dieters to sweat, I think it’s time for us to sit back and reflect on what this holiday is all about. Sure, most of us think about the fat, juicy bird sitting on the dining table, surrounded by sweet taters, dressing and cranberry sauce, complimented by the aroma of an apple pie that just came out of the oven (did anybody else just hear his stomach growl?), but I wonder how many folks actually give thanks for all the blessings they have received in the past. Most families around these parts, mine included, have a tradition of sitting at the table, filling plates they haven’t used in 365 days with lip-smacking vittles, eating too much and too fast for their own good, knowing the Cowboys game starts in 30 minutes. “I’ll have my dessert at halftime.”
Well this year, with the Cowboys’ pitiful record and the ’Horns stinking like poisoned possum poop, there’s no excuse for rushing through dinner.Let’s spend a little extra time sprawled around the dining table, with our belts loosened and the dripped gravy clotting on our engorged bellies, talking with family and friends who we see so little of during the rest of the year. Turn off your cell phones. No Blackberries allowed, unless they’re in the cobbler. The bird is long gone, so there should be no tweeting. Just a group of people sitting in the same room, talking and laughing, allowing each family member to relate what they are thankful for. What a concept!
This Thanksgiving, since my mind is no longer on football, I believe I will list all things I am thankful for, and after our feast of turkey and dressing and a couple of Tums, I will reveal them to those family members who aren’t in a tryptophan-induced coma. But first, I will reveal my Thanksgiving list to all of you out there, extending my thanks to all fans of “A View from the Crow’s Nest.”
I am thankful for my ancestors who settled here in Texas, acquiring and holding on to land that has provided generations of family members a place to build homes and raise families.
I am thankful my ancestors weren’t fond of New Jersey or Oklahoma.
I am thankful to still be physically active even at my ripe age.
I am thankful to know a chiropractor who can keep me that way.
I am thankful to have a job in this dreadful economy.
I am thankful to Adolph Coors and Jack Daniels for their contributions to society.
I am thankful to be living out in the country, or what’s left of it. I am thankful for being able to sit out on my back deck, watching deer and antelope go by instead of cars and trains. I am thankful to be able to watch red-tail hawks soar overhead in a clear, blue sky instead of seeing skyscrapers and factory smoke obscure a heavenly sunset.
I am thankful for an abundance of good Mexican restaurants nearby.
I am thankful for my heartburn medication.
I am thankful for a rainy summer day.
I am thankful for green pastures in August and fat calves in October.
I am thankful to TCU for providing some enjoyment this football season.
I am thankful for a strong military for keeping us safe and free.
I am thankful for fire ants for wiping out ticks and rattlesnakes.
I am thankful for Amdro for wiping out fire ants.
I am thankful to this newspaper for providing an outlet for my creative juices and for keeping my beer fridge stocked.
I am thankful for a working computer.
I am thankful for a son-in-law who can fix broken computers.
I am thankful to have two wonderful daughters who will do all my Christmas shopping for me so I can stay home and watch football.
I am thankful for having an awe-inspiring grandson who can supply radiance on a cloudy day just by smiling at his proud grandfather.
I am thankful for a loving wife who allows me to refer to her as “Maw’’ in my column, and I will be ever so thankful if she doesn’t drag me out to Target in the wee hours of Black Friday.
I hope you all have a joyous and delicious Thanksgiving. I’ll see you again in December.
Clint Younts is thanksful that he has a good bull – both in his pasture and whereever else his bull comes from.
