Pumpkin pie…turkey…stuffing…potatoes and gravy. A traditional Thanksgiving Day meal.
Speaking of gravy….I’m reminded of a line from the 1986 movie, “Platoon.”
No movie so perfectly portrayed the hell of the Vietnam war than this one. Each soldier (mostly draftees) were to serve one year in “the Nam.” From the day they arrived, they counted the days until their departure back to the States.
Towards the end of the movie, one of the soldiers is notified that a chopper is ready to take him out of the jungle for good. He turns to his buddy and says, “All you got to do is make it out of here. Then it’s all gravy…everyday the rest of your life…gravy.”
I have to admit that my life has been gravy. And for that I am truly thankful.
I was playing golf with a buddy last weekend. We were walking the course and carrying our clubs. It was a beautiful day. I said to him, “How fortunate are we to be living in Southern California and healthy enough to be walking and enjoying all of this?”
It’s all relative and I have no right to complain about anything. I know there are so many people in this world who suffer. Some have been born with disabilities. Some die of starvation every day. Others experience the horrors of war.
For them, escaping and trading places with me, wouldn’t just be gravy. It would be heaven.
So, as I play golf again today with my wife and son, I resolve not to complain if I hit a bad hot. Afterwards, when we eat our holiday meal, I resolve not to mind if the food doesn’t taste absolutely divine.
And next week, when I go back to work, I resolve not to bitch if I hit a traffic jam on the freeway. (So rarely happens in SoCal…)
For despite how I might feel about our current governmental leadership, I still live in a fine country. I reside in one of the most scenic and weather-perfect parts of our nation. I have a wife who is my best friend, and to borrow more movie lines, “completes me” – shows me “true north” and is the love of my life.
We have four great kids and more grandkids than I can count…and they are all healthy.
Heavenly gravy. I need to remember that, not just today, but for the rest of my life.
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