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su weendt saturday 0ct06er tlww giving thanks for what we have can be difficult at times while trading im so busy sto ries with a female friend and work ing mother of two young children over lunch the other day my com panion suggested its times like this we should make a point of noting at least three good things that hap pened to us at the end of every day with this being thanksgiving weekend i figured its as good a time as any to reflect upon the con cept of giving thanks for what we have while at the same time acknowledging that what is consid ered a birth right for one person is sometimes seen as a luxury for oth ers the thing about being thankful for what weve been smart enough or lucky enough to acquire is precisely that there are always going to be some who fall through the cracks when it comes to experiencing the basic joys available to the average middleclass individual this came up during a somewhat strained recent telephone conversa tion with a reader who chose to take me to task for using this newspaper as a forum for those who would cel ebrate the coming of a second ice pad in their town the point was made by this rather irate individual that ice palaces are being created while there are those amongst us in town who are without jobs a steady source of food and other essentials i simply replied by saying how wonderful it was that thanks to the efforts of dedicated volunteers and generous residents we have a food- bank which is able to provide for the needs of those who have fallen upon hard times giving thanks can be difficult sometimes there are just so many things that keep going wrong scott peck who authored the muchacclaimed selfhelp book the road less travelled starts off the work with the simple obser vation life is difficult its how you deal with your difficulties and eventually rise above them that determines your ultimate quality of life he goes on to explain i noted to my lunch companr ion the other day that every time i look into the smiling face of my one year old son 1 try to make a point of sa vouring the mo ment freezing it for future refer ence no matter how hectic life is at the time its at those times i give thanks for the joy of children despite the from where i live ful for continues to grow a house that will be all ours in another nine years a minivan that will be ours in four and the best deal of all a loving wife with no monthly payments but a lifetime guarantee have a happy thanksgiving and dont for get to hug the kids kiss your significant other andor your mother and give the dog a pat bruce stapley shambles they can make of both your sanity and your free time at my age 1 also give thanks at those moments that a neartragedy that left my oldest son badly burned and scarred for life a few years back wasnt worse that hes still here and able to enjoy a normal existence then i offer a quick silent prayer for those who have lost family mem bers unexpectedly when i watch my umpteenth three iron shot misfire and bounce feebly up the fairway on a sunny october sunday afternoon i try to look up at the wispy clouds breathe in the warm breeze and give thanks that i can walk the entire 18 holes of a golf course at a relatively brisk pace and while i am the worst one for bemoaning our unending drab win ters i try to give thanks that we are not located on a fault line we never suffer from drought or famine and we are all but immune here to the ruinous hurricanes and floods that afflict so many other parts of this continent and the world then i make a mental note to try to remember to cough up a few bucks to those agencies that would reduce the hardships of victims of weatherrelated disasters and my list of things to be thank- main street unionville will be open thanksgiving monday with over 60 shops restarurants and services we offer a fun experience for shoppers and browsers alike unionville main street is located just north of hwy 7 west of kennedy road carlton 3 2 c c o 2 z ul o flc 1 dc s uniqw1ue z 1 s z o hwy 7 y hwy ot custom build me your meal nssstsbmsss 99 plus tax mega choice mega meal v m m kentucky nuggets buffalo crispy strips mega wings now get a choice of kentucky nuggets mega wings or new buffalo crispy strips in your mega meal real meals easy as kf a rag t m m enrg kfc canada real meals easy as kfc is a tradamaik ol kfc canada