HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

“Enjoy the little things. One day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
— Robert Brault

It’s been 22 months since I began seeing first physician assistants, then nurses, then doctors, then scan machines and assorted other medical equipment. Since the latest scan showed nothing, that alone is cause for personal thanksgiving. But it is also time to renew what once was an annual tradition for me—writing a column about the little and big things that make my life the joy it has been and continues to be. It’s your choice to read through all of this, but since you are here, we might as well proceed. Among the countless things, people and events for which I am thankful on this Thanksgiving Day and every day are the following . . . . . . .

Broadway, both there and here . . . . . sunrises (except they show up so early!) . . . . . deviled eggs . . . . . book stores . . . . . the moving pedestrian walkways inside the terminals at DIA . . . . . the doctors, nurses, P.A.s, aides and other medical folks who have taken good care of me these last two years . . . . . the new skyline growing day by day in downtown Rapid City . . . . . the memories of covering school activities for the Pierre, Onida and Custer newspapers . . . . . cheddar cheese sticks . . . . . the trilogy of FBI shows on CBS Tuesday nights . . . . .
the Dignity statue at Chamberlain and the view of the river valley from up there . . . . . corn on the cob . . . . .

Duke basketball . . . . . Wall Drug donuts . . . . . one of my 1979 blessings, daughter Holly, always a bundle of joy, the family nurse, the one who has more irons in the fire in the community, the one who knows by name more Central theater kids from the last decade than almost anyone in town, the one who checks in regularly, whether in person or online . . . . . any team that beats Michigan in anything from football to tiddly-winks . . . . . Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade (especially when they show the parade rather than celebrities I barely know) . . . . .
having reached the age where 10 p.m. is “past my bedtime” . . . . . Mary’s Mountain Cookies . . . . .

Caramel rolls (especially Delane Rains’ at the Methodist church) . . . . . the blessing of still being able to get up each morning and have a birthday every year . . . . . memories of 10 years in Jason’s house with Allison and Parker as well as Macy, Louie, Ollie, Charlie, Mouse, Milo and Winnie and each time somebody hollered down to me “There’s food up here!” . . . . . the “Skol!” chant at Vikings games . . . . . the Hallmark Channel where Christmas begins in October . . . . . the theater productions at Central High . . . . . spending time with my adult kids and attending the grandkids’ activities onstage, on the field and off . . . . . fudge . . . . .

The loyal singers who won’t allow their church choirs to die even as their congregations grow smaller . . . . . Shohei Ohtani (until he becomes a Dodger) . . . . . Gonzaga basketball . . . . . chili . . . . . the music from “Les Miserables” (“Do you hear the people sing?”) . . . . . people who still read my Midweek Update each week even though I’ve been gone from Pierre for 19 1/2 years . . . . . Jon Sailer, who makes the Update look online each week at www.everythingsouthdakota.com . . . . . the College World Series, especially when Oregon State and Vanderbilt are there . . . . . . pipe organs cranked up to full volume . . . . . the autumn season with its cooler weather, colorful nature, football and holidays to come . . . . . the NFL’s cadre of young quarterbacks (Allen, Burrow, Lawrence, Stroud, Purdy, Tagovailoa, Murray, Herbert, et al.), who will make Sunday TV viewing great for years ahead . . . . . the belief that cooler, smarter heads will prevail in the upcoming presidential election . . . . .

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
— Eckhart Tolle

The whistles of the trains as they move through Rapid City, seemingly always at rush hour . . . . . strawberry-rhubarb pie . . . . . old and new friends who send family Christmas letters or cards . . . . . calls or texts from the kids so I know they arrived somewhere safely . . . . . grandson Dylan, who tries so hard to make his family proud of him, who keeps seeking his place in this world, who always asks if I need anything, former punter for Stevens, catcher for Harney, pitcher for Post 320 and pass receiver for Southwest and now a proud graduate of Sully Buttes High . . . . . Bryce Harper of the Phillies and Mike Trout of the Angels (get ’em on the same team, please!) . . . . . the heroes from the 2016 Cubs (Zobrist, Bryant, Rizzo, Ross, Baez, et al.) . . . . . Christmas lights at Storybook Island . . . . . brownies . . . . .

Dakota Choral Union concerts . . . . . the Seattle Kraken . . . . . pizza from Little Caesar’s . . . . . politicians who work for the common good, regardless of party loyalty and re-election chances . . . . . the shops in Hill City . . . . . Notre Dame football . . . . . summer evenings at the Black Hills Playhouse . . . . . my morning walks along Lime Creek through Kiwanis/Mary Hall Park just a couple blocks from home . . . . . South Dakota magazine . . . . . Wrigley Field . . . . . cranberry-orange muffins . . . . . any one of my 15 coffee breaks during each day . . . . . snuggling with Har-Bar and Lucy, the dogs at my new place, even though they are forbidden to be on the couches (until Mom leaves) . . . . .

Memories of my teaching years at Blunt and Sully Buttes with all the sports, yearbooks, band trips, school papers, concerts and their alumni who stay in touch after all these years . . . . . breakfast at Tally’s with the usual order of eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast . . . . . greeting theater patrons in my job as a house manager at the PACRC . . . . . “Sunday Morning” on CBS . . . . . grandson Nolan, who always has a joyful greeting for me, who will graduate with honors somewhere, some day, and who carries on conversations with adults amazingly . . . . .
Jackrabbit Joe . . . . . the squirrels that scamper along the power lines behind our house, driving the dogs crazy . . . . .

Hearing positive news in these negative times . . . . . restaurants that serve breakfast at any hour . . . . . the new scholarship in Pierre honoring Jay and Bev Mickelson . . . . . Memories of “Fiddler on the Roof” at Riggs High and Pierre Players and the exciting prospect of BHCT’s production of it coming in March . . . . . granddaughter Olivia, the first to make me a grandpa back in 2002, who is beautiful inside and out, who spends time with the adults in her family, who now warms Robbinsdale School with her personality, who is best friend to her sister, and who is just a good person . . . . .memories of music from the ’60s to ’80s, Anne Murray, the Carpenters, Glen Campbell . . . . .

“Be thankful for what you have. You’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never ever have enough.”
— Oprah Winfrey

Bainbridge Island . . . . . movie star Keanu Reeves . . . . . the Ohio State band’s tuba players who get the honor of dotting the “I” . . . . . summer college baseball leagues . . . . . oldest kid Jason, who turns 50 in a few days (what???!!!), who thrives on every minute he spends on the stage, who spent countless hours each evening reading full books to his now vocabulary-strong son when he was a youngster, whose sometimes brash exterior melts when he cares for patients at the heart and vascular institute . . . . . the “Kennedy Center Honors” . . . . .
the Welch families who have been in my life for parts of seven decades . . . . . the scent of rain . . . . .

The bustling music program at my adopted South Canyon Lutheran Church . . . . . peanut butter cookies . . . . . opening day at Zesto in Pierre and Armadillo’s in Rapid City . . . . . hot chocolate . . . . . the Tournament of Roses parade (without celebrity announcers) . . . . . families in the pews on Christmas Eve and Easter morning . . . . . the state one-act play festival . . . . . the Golden State Warriors (except for Draymond Green) . . . . . my hometown newspaper arriving in the mailbox each Friday . . . . . homecoming parades . . . . . the “CBS Mornings” crew of Gayle, Tony and Nate . . . . . mimosas . . . . . the buffalo that terrorize out-of-state tourists at Custer State Park . . . . . Carol Burnett . . . . .

The hot water of the shower on a cold winter morning in my chilly basement bedroom . . . . . the active community theater scene in Rapid City and Pierre and those who keep it thriving . . . . . Governors football, even from long-distance (“Once a Governor, always a Governor”) . . . . . pumpkin pie . . . . . granddaughter Audrey, who will be our next high school graduate in 2025, who shines onstage, who always says “Thanks for coming!” after a play or concert, and who will break her mom’s heart when she is old enough to leave home . . . . . Coors Field . . . . . Vikings broadcaster Paul Allen and TV sportscaster Kevin Harlan, who make every game they call exciting to watch and hear . . . . . daughter-in-law Allison and her family members . . . . . Michael Buble . . . . . sweet potatoes . . . . . Barry Manilow . . . . .

Barbra Streisand . . . . . having a new place to call home with Heather and her boys convenient to shopping, senior center, church and the ballparks . . . . . marching bands . . . . . TV weather people who don’t think rain in the forecast is a bad thing . . . . . grandson Lincoln, who is built like the wrestler/football player he is bound to be, who joyfully greets his pets after school and who remains his twin brother’s best friend (at least into fourth grade!) . . . . . memories of six years in Vermillion with USD music, Coyote sports, the organ bench at the UCC, Post 1 and VHS sports, writing for the Plain Talk and the wonderful people there . . . . . chicken strips at Culver’s . . . . . Pierre’s waterfront walking paths . . . . . Creighton basketball . . . . . walking tacos at Post 22 baseball games . . . . . Charlie Coyote . . . . .

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
— Wlliam Arthur Ward

Football game day at Nebraska (“Go, Big Red”) . . . . . stores that have more than one of their 10 cash register lanes open when I’m there. . . . . the leaves from the trees, especially the ones that blow onto the neighbors’ yards . . . . . Pierre’s Brandon Cruse, the only NFL referee I trust to get it right . . . . . twin daughter Heather, who showed the courage to make a good life for herself and her son when she chose law school, who now is any guilty criminal’s worst nightmare when she’s the prosecutor, and who welcomed me into her new home . . . . . brother John, sister-in-law Linda, their daughter Jayne and her family, and Linda’s relatives who all have been part of my life for decades . . . . .

The deer who pause to munch along the creek beyond our backyard fence . . . . . Erik Muckey, a kid I met in the USD/community choir 15 years ago who now, 16 years later, is the driving force behind Lost & Found suicide prevention and other Sioux Falls projects and who, if you’re smart, you will elect as your governor or Congressman some day . . . . . grandson Parker Reid, who is one of the brightest (and shortest!) seventh graders, who caught the theater bug from his dad, who greets theater patrons from the BHCT concession stand and who knows more about the NBA players than some of the TV analysts . . . . . wind farms, especially when those propellers are whirling . . . . .

The Christmas trees at the Capitol . . . . . “Big Brother” . . . . . the Purple Pie Place . . . . . the Black Hills and South Dakota symphony orchestras . . . . . anyone who beats the Chiefs, Packers, Eagles, Lakers, Dodgers and Astros . . . . . Dakota Day at USD . . . . . second son Ryan who uses his full Ryan Parker Knox name in his theater work, who cares fondly for cats and now dogs and his Carina, who is an asset to every one of his plays at Tucson’s Rogue Theatre . . . . . the camaraderie in a pit band working on a BHCT musical . . . . . Twins and Cubs baseball . . . . . Dolly Parton . . . . . Garth Brooks . . . . . memories of my hometown from back in the early school years and later when I taught and worked there . . . . . churches’ fall bazaars . . . . . golf on TV if Jordan Spieth or Rory McIlroy is playing . . . . .

The Space Needle, the Chihuly glass museum, the Pike Place Market and the ferry boats in Seattle . . . . . drives across town when I hit all the green lights . . . . .goulash . . . . . memories of Post 8 and Pierre Cowboys baseball at Hyde Stadium and hours in the P.A. announcer’s booth . . . . . the loyalty, talent and friendship of my singers in the Joyful Gals & Guys chorus who go along with my wild concert ideas, choice of music and scheduling . . . . . the honor of knowing the late Larry Luitjens personally . . . . . Chicago and all of its unique sights and attractions . . . . . semifinal night at the state basketball tournaments . . . . . country music stations with little talk between songs . . . . . anyone who has waded this far through this lengthy column. A blessed Thanksgiving holiday to each of you!