When I was still in the music industry, I was part of a tradition that went about six or seven years at Thanksgiving. It was a small group of fellow writers and a few musicians whom we’d covered in the mags. We would all email each other a blurb or two about what we were thankful for. It was corny, sometimes hilarious and raunchy, but you know who you are and I invite any of you to resurrect a fun exercise in solidarity.

I know some put Thanksgiving under the woke firing lines. Some cringe and dread at forced time with people they don’t care to see. Some lament their losses of family, by death or division. What I do like about Thanksgiving is the reminder to find introspection within yourself and to be grateful and find value in what or whom you have in your lives.

Thus, I would say I am utterly grateful to have married the love of my life and for finding the right person who is a warrior and savvy and knows the meaning of TEAM in a partnership. I’m grateful to my son beginning to emerge into a man and for making better choices for his future. I’m grateful to having a new branch of family to replace those I lost, including my stepdaughter and stepson who inspire me by their stick-to-it-iv-ness. My longtime family, I love you, always will.

I’m grateful for all of my friends, those who have been with me forever and all the newcomers in my life, especially this year. My friend base, especially in my writer’s circle, has grown exponentially and I value each and every one of you for welcoming me into your lives and for supporting me, however that entails.

I’m grateful my writing is abundantly pouring, and while I still have ways to go, I’ve climbed quite a way up the mountain. The peak is still hazy, but I can see it, huzzah! My next project is more than a quarter written and I will hope to deliver a knockout for all of you who have believed in me.

We should all be grateful when we have the means to sustain ourselves, no matter the level of difficultness, and I have that. I remember the long, tough years and I dig for the grace to appreciate where I’m at now and with whom.

Turkey meals, football, parades, Wizard of Oz, all part and parcel to what some may consider an ordered holiday fabrication. Embrace your fortunes, not your detriments and enjoy Thanksgiving with a sense of grace and gratitude.

Thinking about all ya crazy fools from the music racket and a life that seems more distant than it really is. I’ll always cherish you with everyone else I’m thankful for.

–Ray Van Horn, Jr.