Ransom Notes

I don’t know when they decided to put
Thanksgiving on a Thursday. It seems
such an odd day, especially if you don’t
have the Friday off. You eat like a crazy
person, and then you have to go to work
the next day, noticeably sluggish and
laden with leftovers. Turkey sammich,
anyone?
But the Thanksgiving
holiday is traditionally
the beginning of the
Christmas holiday season
(though some people
already have their
lights up). It is the
beginning of more than
a month of celebration
and reflection, culminating
in Christmas and
New Year’s Day and
Kwanzaa.
This year, lots of people are having
trouble finding things to give thanks for.
The national unemployment rate has
topped 10 percent, and the state unemployment
rate is over 11 percent. Since the
jobless rate for Black people is routinely
double the overall rate, and the rate for
Black teens even higher, we can be sure
that there are a lot of people who cannot
be thankful about a job.
Recent news also doesn't spur thoughts
of thankfulness either. Children are being
killed in the streets, and the ones who are
in the schools are fearing for their lives.
Worse yet, only half of the Black students
who start school in ninth grade finish 12th
grade. That means they are relegated to
having Thanksgiving celebrations that are
meager, because they won’t have the kind
of jobs that will get them the best paychecks.
Not to mention that too many of those
kids who are no longer in school are out
because they are pregnant.
But I’m willing to help. Despite the
dour news, and the grey weather, and the
forecast of snow, there are plenty of things
to be thankful for.
There, there was one. You almost
missed it because you rarely think of it,
but that breath you took, that was a good
reason to be thankful. Not everyone is
doing that today, at least not on their own.
Got kids? Yeah, even that knucklehead
who dropped out and stands in your
refrigerator wondering what to eat, even
though he’s eaten everything already, he’s
something to be thankful for. He probably
loves you even though he thinks you were
never cool and never smart and always
dressed funny.
Got a roof over your head? Now, just
because the recent rain may have exposed
that roof as less than waterproof, you can
lie your head down somewhere where the
elements don’t keep you
awake. The residents of Lower
Wacker Drive using the hotel
exhaust vents as heat are probably
thankful that they have a
dry blanket, or heavy-gauge
plastic. You however, have a
lock on your door.
I found myself giving thanks
for CTA. Now, I know they are
planning to raise fares and cut
service, but you’d be amazed at
how well CTA stacks up
against public transit in other
cities. The trains are warm (though fumigation
could help), and the heated areas at
the train stops are so hot, they burn the top
of your head. Of course, the temperature
has been moderate (another reason to be
thankful), so we’ll see how they perform
in truly inclement weather.
Got a spouse, or a significant other (or
both)? Yeah, he’s opinionated, lazy, and
sloppy and spends too much time at his
job. But he will do anything for you (he
just doesn’t know what to do until you tell
him). Give thanks for him. He needs the
encouragement.
Yes, if rolling the eyes were an Olympic
sport she would have several gold medals,
but she loves you. She just wants you to
be a better you. She never met a shoe sale
she could turn down and you are clueless
as to what constitutes a “cute” shoe, but
she’s getting cute for you. Suck it up and
give thanks.
Mostly, though, give thanks because
that’s what you are here for. You really
have only two jobs in this life - love one
another and give praise and thanks. Some
of us fail miserably at that first job, but we
get a whole day set aside - a Thursday no
less - to do the other one.
It isn’t the turkey, it isn’t the cranberry
sauce and it isn’t the stuffing or sweet
potato pie. It isn’t the family gatherings or
the football games. It is the thanks that
makes the holiday.
Lou Ransom is executive editor of the
Chicago Defender.