Well, my brother posted something on Facebook recently saying, roughly, “Don’t shop on Thanksgiving because you’re depriving those store workers of a day spent at home with their families.” My initial thought was, Wow, I completely agree with you, brother. But then, as I do so often, I thought again.

First thing I did this morning was pee. As I accomplished this vital task, it occurred to me that someone must be working at the sewage treatment plant today, or else my pee will be going directly into the Saranac River. I looked at the bathroom light: thank you, National Grid workers, for being on the job, keeping my electricity flowing. And thank you, Time Warner workers, for keeping the servers running so I can put this piddly post online.

So, really, one can’t be so holy about it and think that, by staying home, we’re giving everyone time to be home. (And besides, what do most families do on holidays, anyway? Drink!) No matter what we do, our daily life requires people we’ll never see to be working without our thanks. 

Well, thanks, everybody. And Happy Thanksgiving to all.