On the Rise: Making the step up to the Seniors

In Auskick everyone gets a game, everyone gets a touch. It is a gentle introduction to what can be a harsh sport of which to be part. Life is not so certain when you move up through the ranks and by the time you are looking at the big league, it is a real struggle to make your mark and hold your spot. With each division a player rises through, the transition to the next level is made harder simply by the fact that there are less spots available, more people vying for few key positions, and the hardest move in AFL is stepping up from Reserves to Seniors, from VFL to AFL, from the minor league to the real deal.

There are plenty of great players who may never play in at AFL level. There are plenty more who will only ever play ten games, if that. So just what is it that makes a player ready to step up and, once there, able to keep their spot? Is it just down to that X factor? Is it a combination of skills and attitude that combine to make the player worthy? Is it the team they play for? Is it potluck?

In reality, it is all of those things. You will hear player’s talk of their debut in the Seniors and you will realise that it is not just one aspect that gave them that opportunity. At the new clubs, Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, the opportunity is much easier to come by, as there are fewer established players. The same can be said for teams with young lists. As the teams become more stable the opportunity to break through becomes increasingly rare. This is where luck plays a huge role.

Players waiting in the wings of the big league often need to rely on luck to make their debut, whether this is good luck or bad luck depends on who you are. For the Senior player is almost certainly bad luck. They must relinquish their place in the team due to injury or suspension, sometimes even due to off-field drama. For the Reserve Grade player it seems as though lady luck is smiling on them but making the team does not mean the hard work stops. If you rest on you laurels then you are going to lose your place just as quickly as you gained it.

Making that step up to AFL level is something that every player must go though. No one just magically appears in a senior list, even though sometimes it might feel like that from the sidelines. There are those players who make their debut without fanfare. There are others which come in surrounded by all the hype the media outlets can muster. Regardless of this entrance, the path is the same. The on field performance from that debut will set the tone for the rest of their immediate playing future.

If we look at a couple of recent debutants, and one not so recent debutants, from the Sydney Swans in particular, we can see how performance in the reserves is not always an indicator for success in the seniors and how hard it is to maintain your place once you gain selection.

Sydney is one of the most stable teams in the league. This is evident from the number of 100, 200 and 300 game players in the side and from the low number of total players used in a given season. It prides itself on maintaining a core of players who work well together and follow the old adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". This makes gaining selection for the reserves players very difficult. They really need to show something extra special in their reserve grade games to even be considered. The success of a senior side can have a two-fold effect. It can lift the reserve grade players as they know that a higher standard is being set. It can also lift the senior team as they don't want to lose their place in the team to these up and coming players. The depth this creates can be terrific. Having multiple back ups for almost every key position and having game plans which don't rely solely on individual players makes for a strong team, and a strong team makes for some interesting and spectacular debuts.

 Photo Courtesy of Matthew G Moses

Dane Rampe is Sydney born and bred. He is not a traditional footballer. He had a background in basketball and soccer before swapping to AFL. A move to Victoria for play in the VFL and a trial with the Western bulldogs did not pan out for the young player but when he moved back to Sydney, the team he loved saw something in him. He played in the Swans reserves during 2012 and impressed the coaching staff with his maturity, both of mind and of play, but there was also something else that impressed them. Athletic ability - being able to kick, handball, mark, tackle and run - will only get you so far. What the Sydney selectors were looking for wasn't simply a good footballer. These are a dime a dozen. They were looking for a particular attitude to suit a particular culture.

The culture at Sydney is well documented. It is about the team first and foremost, and being a team player is something the Swans strive to achieve in all their players, whether they are debutants or 300-game Brownlow Medallists. Rampe showed in his time in the Reserves that he had this attitude. He put in the hard yards physically yet he was able to draw from deep inside a tenacity that shone through and a cohesiveness with his fellow players that instilled confidence in his teammates and his coaches. While natural talent got his foot in the door, hard work has given him a key; and while luck may have played a part in opening up a spot in the Seniors, it was having that something special that has kept Rampe in his position for the majority of this season.

Photo Courtesy of Matthew G Moses

Another debutant, Tom Mitchell, came to the Swans in completely different manner. Being drafted under the father-son rule can add significant pressure to a young player. For some it can overwhelm them and they fade into obscurity. For others, like Mitchell, their debut is nothing short of spectacular. Indeed, Mitchell came away with 18 disposals, 6 tackles, 3 goal assists and a goal of his own in his first senior game, but backing up after a breakout game such as that can also be tough. Not if you're Tom Mitchell, it seems. His second game earned him a Rising Star nomination. Perhaps the Bloods culture is more than skin deep. Perhaps it courses through the veins of the players and is handed down from one generation to the next. Perhaps it is simply knowing what is expected well in advance and not being afraid to live up to that lofty expectation.

Mitchell's debut was not without its challenges. An injury plagued 2012 meant a prolonged stint in the Reserves before making his debut. Even then, he began as the sub, not an uncommon way to make a debut since its inception. Normally a sub would look to play a quarter, maybe a half of footy. Luck stepped in and Mitchell took to the field for nearly three quarters on debut after an unlucky Tommy Walsh went down with a torn hamstring. Had he not been on the field for such a protracted amount of time, perhaps his debut would not have been as spectacular as it was, but football is all about taking opportunities when they are presented to you and if a player wants to stay in the Senior side, they have to prove they deserve to be there by fitting in seamlessly with the established players while still making their own mark. It is a balancing act that can pay awesome dividends when the players get it right.

The path to the top is never easy, no matter how it might seem from the outside looking in, and for some players it comes harder than others. There are players who show such promise yet never quite live up to the expectation placed on their shoulders. There are others who just need a little more nurturing. Ever sat on the sidelines, watched your team, and wondered, "why do they keeping picking him, he's terrible?" That's the player. The player who has that dreaded P word - potential. There are plenty of them in the AFL. Sydney's own Jesse White is probably one of the best examples.

Photo Courtesy of Matthew G Moses

 

White made his debut in 2008. Since then he has played 62 games for the Swans at a senior level but, until this year, seemed unable to replicate the spectacular form he has displayed in the Reserves despite earning the clubs Rising Star award in 2009. White became known as a fringe player: better than the average reserve grade player yet somehow not quite cutting it with the seniors. Flashes here and there whet the appetite but how long can a senior career be sustained by glimpses of brilliance? Jesse's talent was always there, it was just a matter of unearthing it. An unsuccessful trade to Adelaide may have been the catalyst for him. Whether the improvement would have happened regardless is pure conjecture though there are many who would say this is the case. The faith of the senior staff has paid off and White is playing some of the best football of his career.

In the end, there is no hard and fast rule, no defined path to follow, when making the move from reserve grade to seniors. Jed Lamb credits a trip to Burma with giving him a new perspective on life. Tom Mitchell says that working together with the coaches and having a strong knowledge of positional work is vital. Dane Rampe thinks that building relationships with your teammates is one of the keys. What comes through, when talking to the young players at the Swans is that, while their debut is a proud moment in their football career, the result of the game is about the team, they play for the team and win for the team, and their debut is celebrated by the team.

Maybe that is the ultimate factor in the success of any player: being welcomed into the team, as a friend and colleague, by the established players and staff. A team that works for each other, celebrates the milestones together, holds it's debutants and it's veterans to the same exacting standard and creates an atmosphere of reward for effort not only creates successful top tier players, it creates successful people.

Whatever the reason for great players, whatever tips them over the edge into superstardom, whatever challenges they overcome - there is something special about AFL players at a senior level. The tempo of the game rises. The media frenzy steps up a notch. The expectations increase exponentially. All that hard work; all that dedication; all that self-belief. When all of it has been put to the test and when all of it is still there, better than ever, that's when the magic happens and that's when those debutants become part of the fabric of a club.

The Right Side of History: Marriage equality for all not just some

As I write this, my country that I love is, unfortunately, on the wrong side of history. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is the catchphrase that is being used by the same sex marriage lobby to encourage goverments to change legislation before the rest of the world and being labelled as reactionary instead of proactive.

I've written a previous blog about my feelings towards homosexuality. In case you haven't read it or haven't realised ... I'm not but I have no problem with it.

This blog entry is not about how I feel about other peoples sexuality. This blog is about the institution of marriage. This blog is about equality. This blog is about choice.

I heard someone on the television today talking about how legalising same sex marriage would be akin to the stolen generation. For overseas readers, the stolen generation is a period of Australian history in which Aboriginal children were removed from their parents and placed into white families, the misguided belief being that they were better off (socially, economically, emotionally) in this new environment. This man's arguement was that same sex couple could not raise a child and give it the same loving, stable environment as a heterosexual couple; he trotted out the old chestnut that a child needs a mother AND a father to develop normally.

He equated same sex couples rearing children that may not be biologically their own with the stolen generation in which children were taken, sometimes forcefully from their loving parents. He went on to say that children should not be separated from their biological parents. I challenge him to tell any straight couple who have struggled to concieve a child that they are doing the wrong thing by that child because they have taken it from its biological parent (even though the biological parent may have given up the child for adoption or may have donated eggs and/or sperm). I'm not sure that this situation is any different from a same sex couple gaining a child through adoption, IVF or surrogacy.

But before all of that, I don't believe that marriage has anything to do with children these days. Once upon a time, and in the not too distant past, it certainly was inextricably linked. Today, married or not, you can have a child. With IVF, adoption and surrogacy all viable options there is no reason why one or two loving people of either sex can't have a child if they want one. Marriage is, and should be, about two people who love each other making a declaration of that love in an official capacity.

People always fall back on religion when it comes to marriage. The bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman. The bible alwo says that a woman should be a virgin when married. The bible says that if a woman is raped she is duty bound to marry her rapist or bring shame on her family for having sex outside of the marriage. The bible says we should stone people to death for adultery. The bible is against divorce. The bible says that marriage is a business transaction and that a woman's worth is measured in cows or tracts of land. The other thing people say is that we can't redefine marriage. Well, by the above standards, we have already redefined marriage.

It is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their gender or sexuality. In employing someone it is illegal to deny anyone a job based on who they sleep with in the privacy of their own home. In serving people in a shop it is illegal to deny anyone serviced based on their sexual preference. Equal rights, however, do not extend to marriage.

Marriage is the last bastian of the heterosexual. Why? What is it about marriage that makes being a homosexual unfit to partake?

 

Gay men are allowed to vote. Lesbians are allowed to hold positions of power. Yet marriage is somehow off limits? What is wrong with our society that we have people who still think that two people who love each other are committing a sin? Two consenting adults in a loving, committed relationship can't be a bad thing.

I love the photos and pictures that appear on the internet about same sex marriage. Some of them I have posted on this blog. It's important to keep a sense of humour in situations such as this. After all, most of the arguements against same sex marriage are laughable so why not?

Not fighting the tears ... ANZAC Day 2013

 

ANZAC Day. For any Australian it conjures up images of mud-stained diggers, slouch hats and Gallipoli, but it is so much more than those fragmented images. I'm not sure that there are any words or images which can truly do justice to what this day means not only to our country as a whole but to every single individual citizen who stands shoulder to shoulder with their fellow man to remember the times of hardship that gave us the freedoms we now enjoy.

 

 

ANZAC Day is celebrated on April 25th, the anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli in 1915.

 

Nearly 9,000 Australians and nearly 3,000 New Zealanders lost their lives in the campaign that lasted until 9th January, 1916.

 

A further 24,000 combined ANZAC troops were injured.

 

In population of approximately only 6,000,000 people in both Australia and New Zealand, 36,000 casualties of war is a significant number in a campaign that lasted less than a year.

 

In total over 60,000 Australian troops lost their lives during World War I.

Nearly 40,000 were lost in World War II.

Since then a further 2,000 troops have given their lives.

 

ANZAC Day commemorates not only those who died during that fateful campaign in Gallipoli. It commemorates all casualties of war. It commemorates all who have served; it commemorates all who currently serve; and it commemorates all who will serve.

 

 

"This is not a day of celebration but of national memory. It is a day when we learn, and learn again, of the horror of purposeless war. It is a day for looking after your mates, cherishing your home, your neighbourhood and family ... It's a day for realising how rare this wonderful country of ours is and how precious it is." Bob Carr, Minister for Foreign Affairs (2012 - date)

 

Australia has, time and time again, stood taller than statistics say it should have been able to. It has sacrificed more than it should ever have to. More families have lost sons and daughters than should need to. More brave soldiers have returned broken by things they should never have to see or experience.

 

The liberties we enjoy, the freedoms we all too often take for granted, are gifted us by the monumental sacrifices of those who have gone before us. Troops far outnumbered, holding the line. Fighter pilots reaching their targets against tremendous odds. Naval commanders outmanoeuvring far superior fleets. Today we thank those mates and neighbours who braved the elements, those family and strangers who were courageous under fire; those leaders who made those impossible decisions that none of us should ever have to make.

 

 

"The ANZAC spirit runs through todays Australians. We see it, of course, in our forces. But we also see it, every day, in our rural, remote and urban communities. Australians are coming together to mark ANZAC Day, to honour the loss of precious life, to ponder the gift of service." Quentin Bryce, Governor-General of Australia (2008 - date)

 

The ANZAC spirit is an oft talked about feature of what it means to be Australian. it encompasses the battle-worthy qualities of endurance and courage as well as those qualities needed in order to survive not just physically but mentally, including ingenuity, good humour, larrikinism, and mateship. These qualities are not reserved for that minority who take up arms in order that the majority need not. These qualities are within every single Australian.

 

Every day, Australians band together to help those who are less fortunate, those who have experienced hardship, those who are struggling for whatever reason. Every day, we see those efforts and rarely are they rewarded but none are done for reward, or even recognition. Those efforts are made because it is what is right. It is what should be done. It is what needs to be done.

 

 

As I have written this piece, I have struggled with what words to use, what images to conjure. There are many traditional images I have used throughout this post - the rising sun, red poppies, the war memorial, the Australian flag, the grave of the unknown soldier - but perhaps the most powerful image I could ever leave you with is not something I can see. It is that which your own mind brings forward. It is that which is in your heart and in your soul. It is that which is stronger than any picture on any screen, and more relevant and more personal than any blog entry I could write.

 

I have shed more than a few tears as the words have flown but more tears will fall as I write the closing lines. It is the Ode of Remembrance, taken from Laurence Binyon's poem, "For the Fallen".

 

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Lest we forget.

Paying it forward ...

So, you all know about the concept of paying it forward? If not, it's the idea that you do something nice for someone and they then do something nice for someone else and so on, the outcome being that everyone eventually gets to both do something nice for someone and to have something nice done for them.

My way of doing this was to offer my facebook friends free advertising on my blog post so here it is: Paying it forward, Nona-style !!!

Parrotfunalia
Run by Donna Brooks
Donna provides awesome paintings, drawings and photographs of Australian Parrots. She sells them online from her facebook page.
www.facebook.com/Parrotfunalia

 

 

 

No More Excuses Health and Fitness
Run by Melanie Thatcher Dyble
Mel provides fitness training predominantly in the Sutherland Shire, NSW, Australia. There are 1-0n-1 sessions and group classes including Pregnancy and Postnatal training, Pram fit, Group boxing, Aqua fitness and personalised programming.
www.nomoreexcuses.com.au
melnomoreexcuses@yahoo.com.au
0405 149 641

 

 

 

Lush Wedding Styling
Run by Rosie Hemana
Rosie provides unique and affordable beach, park, garden and indoor ceremonies to suit all tastes and budgets. Lush is located in South East Queensland, Australia.
Open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday ... 9:30am - 2pm
www.lushweddingstyling.com
lushweddingstyling@hotmail.com
www.facebook.com/LUSHWeddingStyling
www.twitter.com/LUSHStylingAU

 

 

 

Systems Up
Run by Kris Cranfield
Kris' team uses their experience to ensure that your computer and communications systems are running efficiently and effectively. The evaluate your spends - on phone bills, ADSL plans or technology procurement and implement plans to reduce overall costs. Systems up is located in Sydney and Gosford, Australia.
www.systemsup.com.au
info@systemsup.com.au
1300 844 098



Skate Pro
Run by Debbie Simms
Debbie provides online skate sales targeting Artistic Skating and Roller Derby.
www.skatepro.com.au
sales@skatepro.com.au
0421 789 981

 

 

 

Dream On Multimedia
Run by Olivia NatoliOlivia provides graphic design, web design, business branding, photography and videography for a range styles and markets.
http://dreamonmultimedia.com.au/
www.facebook.com/DreamOnMultimedia



Please visit my friends and why not pay it forward for some of your own friends?

Who are the people who read this blog ...

Hello, is anybody out there ???

Well, I'm pretty sure there are people out there. People who read my blog, even. But who are you strange, wonderful people?

I've often wondered about the people who read my blog ... what they are like, where they're from, why they're reading it. Obviously, some are people I know, friends and family and the like, but who are the others? Looking at statistics just doesn't give you that info. There are people from all over the world who look at my posts, and it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside to know my humble little blog has found it's way onto a computer screen in Pakistan or Malaysia or Canada or South Africa or any one of the other countries from which my readers come from.

If you want to comment below and tell me how you came across this blog, feel free ... and if you have a blog, feel free to give it a plug (I'll even return the favour and come visit yours).

White Ribbon Day: A day I wish we didn’t need

He doesn't have to hit you for it to be abuse. He can degrade, humiliate, blame, curse, manipulate, or try to control you. Its still Domestic Violence. (unknown)

November 25^th is White Ribbon Day. It’s a day where people band together in support of the abolition of violence against women and, in particular, domestic violence. It’s a day for men to stand up, loud and proud, and say they would never hit a woman. It’s also a day for women to say they refuse to be the victim. But domestic violence isn’t just about the physical threat. Domestic abuse can come in all forms.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will make me go in a corner and cry by myself for hours." (Eric Idle)

 

The idea that it’s not damaging if it’s not physical is a very old one. Quite often the emotional scars are the last to heal but they are somehow downgraded, much as the schoolyard bullies snide remarks are brushed aside. How a woman values herself is instrumental to the family dynamic and if she sees herself as worthless, incapable or a non-entity because that is all she has ever been told then that is how other people will come to see her and that is how she will behave.

If the numbers we see in domestic violence were applied to terrorism or gang violence, the entire country would be up in arms, and it would be the lead story on the news every night. (Mark Green)

 

The statistics are frightening. For the full survey, head to:

University of New South Wales "Domestic Violence Statistics"

 

• 23% of women who had ever been married or in a de-facto relationship, experienced violence by a partner at some time during the relationship.
• Half of women experiencing violence by their current partner experienced more than one incident of violence.
• 12% of women who reported violence by their current partner at some stage during the relationship, said they were currently living in fear.

 
Women often stay in abuse relationships. The excuses they give are many and varied. I use the term “excuses” quite deliberately. A “reason” implies some sort of rational explanation. There is no rational explanation for staying in an abusive relationship.

Leaving an abusive partner is a very difficult thing to do. It frequently feels like you are failing, or destroying your family, or not trying to work things out, or not giving your partner “a second chance.” It hurts, and it’s scary. (Blaine Nelson)

 

Whether the woman stays for the sake of the children, the lack of belief that she deserves any better, the misguided notion that she can fix her abuser or a hold by religious tenant that demands “til death do us part”, the result, inevitably will be the same. The abuse will continue once the precedent has been set.

But leaving your abusive partner is not the final step. In fact, 35% of women who experienced violence from their partner did so during periods of separation. Leaving is, in actuality, the first step. It is the first step in reclaiming your life, your independence and your self.

There are a number of support services across the world set up with the sole intention of assisting women leaving abusive relationships but before you even get there, your first stop should the local police station. They will document your side of the incident, even if you don’t want to pursue it further (though I strongly suggest you do, especially if it is chronic abuse). They will then direct you to the appropriate organisation to help you in your area. Other professions who are able to help are your local doctor, counsellors, psychologists, mental health departments (going to these doesn’t mean you are crazy or have some illness, they are there to help you deal with the emotional and psychological fallout of the situation) and DOCS (especially if there are children involved).

 

If you are reading this and you are in an abusive relationship, here is my advice: tell someone. More often than not, your close friends and family have already noticed or suspected. They may have even tried to help you previously. If your partner has cut you off from your support network and filled your life with his friends and acquaintances, reach out to those people who knew you before you met your partner, or who you lost contact with while with your partner. You would be surprised at how many would help you, if only they knew what was wrong, or if only you reached out for the help.

You may think that the people you know won’t believe you, there are other (impartial) people you can go to. Most of them I have detailed above. They are people who will not be swayed by your partners public persona, which can often be suave and charming and friendly. They will understand if there is little to no evidence, especially in the cases of emotional abuse. They will provide you with resources and information to not only get you away from your partner but also to help set up your new life.

Remember, you are not the one at fault. You have done nothing wrong. You don’t deserve to be hit because the dishes weren’t done. You don’t deserve a tirade of verbal abuse because you were 5 minutes late. You don’t deserve to be belittled because you have a different opinion about something.

So …

To all the men who have taken the oath this year, and every year, to stand up to violence against women in all its guises, thank you.

To all the women who won’t be victims, be proud.

And …

To all the women, waiting for a sign to get out, it’s not going to be a 20 foot high flashing neon sign, it’s you reading this blog. Take that first step and be proud.

Thanksgiving Australian Style

Ok, so we don’t actually do Thanksgiving in Australia, nor would I want to start another tradition for the commercial sector to ruin, though I do like the idea of occasionally sitting back and thinking (and I mean really thinking) about what you are thankful for.

There’s lots to be thankful for in this life: there’s the big things (like family, friends, a home, a job) and there’s the little things (like the weather being co-operative, a flower blooming or a much wanted item going on sale just when you were about to give up on getting it). What I want to do is take a look at some of the things I am thankful for and why I am thankful for them.

1. I am thankful to be alive.

So many times, especially when I was younger, I thought about not being alive and how I would go about making that happen. I am thankful I never went through with it. I am thankful that I saw the worth in myself that others didn’t see. I am thankful that I survived.

2. I am thankful for my son.

Infuriating though he can sometimes be I am forever thankful that I have him, that he is happy and healthy, and that he is so full of life. I am thankful that I decided to keep him when I could have either terminated or given him up for adoption. I am thankful that, no matter what, I will always be his mother and he will always be my baby, no matter how old he gets,

3. I am thankful for my job.

I may complain bitterly about it at times, may rage at the unfathomable decisions made by the higher ups, may get in trouble for expressing that rage, but, in the end, I do love my job. I am thankful for the people it allows me to meet. I am thankful for the opportunities it presents to me. I am thankful for the colleagues I have. I am thankful for the understanding it provides me when I call in sick or have to take time off to be a mum. I am also thankful for the pay it gives me, that buys my food and lets me take holidays.

4. I am thankful for my friends.

They may live far and wide and get consumed by their own lives at times but they are always a call, a text, an email or a FB message away when I need them. I am thankful that they tell me when I’m being an idiot (even if I don’t always listen) and I am thankful for their support. I am thankful for the diversity they exhibit in their humour, their jobs, their lifestyles, their sexuality and their beliefs.

5. I am thankful for my mother.

Not just because she’s my mother. She’s also my financial planner, my babysitter and my housekeeper. I’m not sure what I will do without her when she eventual steps off this mortal coil, but in the meantime I’m thankful everything she does.

6. I am thankful for the Australian education system.

It may not be the best in the world but I think it’s pretty good. It doesn’t matter how old you are or what your background is, if you want an education you can get one. It has provided me with not only 13 years of extremely inexpensive public education; it has provided me with 6 years of higher education, which I only pay back once my earnings reach a certain level. From these years of education, I have learned not only specific information, such as the equation for the circumference, but general knowledge, such a critical thinking. Without my education I would not be able to write this blog (I’ll leave it to you to decide whether that’s a good thing or not).

7. I am thankful for the freedoms I enjoy.

I live in a society that is relatively free from persecution. There will be closed-minded people, religious zealots, ignorant fools and all manner of other types of people who try to force others into their way of thinking. I am thankful that the State does not, on a whole, sanction their idiocy. I am free to think what I want, to believe what I want, to love who I want, to travel where I want. I am also thankful that those freedoms are being afforded to more and more of my fellow citizens as we move toward a truly equal society based on merit not on misconceptions.

8. I am thankful for today’s technology,

Without having to miss a beat, I can search for anything and everything online, from the mass-produced to the obscure and rare. I can connect with friends and family on the other side of the world instantly. I can store food for days, weeks, months without it going off. I can cook a meal (well, not me personally, other people can) without slaving over the stove all day, unless you really want to.

9. I am thankful for nature.

I am thankful for the birds that sing, the fish that swim, the clouds that float by, the waves that crash, the flowers that bloom, the wind that sighs, the cats that purr, the children that laugh, the rain that falls and the sun that shines. I am thankful for life on earth and my ability to experience it in all its wonders. That life gives me life. Its existence allows for my existence. I am thankful for nature in all its majesty.

10. I am thankful for my readers.

Few though you may be, without you I’d be talking to myself. I have always said I don’t write for anyone for myself and that is true, but it is always nice to know someone is casting a discerning eye over these random meanderings of mine and perhaps taking something from them that is more than a simple understanding of what has been written.

Happy Thanksgiving, America ... and everyone else as well