A lot of thanks-giving troubles me. As in "thank you God the tornado veered away from my house" (and struck a block away instead). It implies a God who can change the direction of a tornado and who ought to be able to prevent a tornado or move it into some unpopulated area, but who doesn't do it. Instead God just saves a "favorite" person or whatever.

But there is also something deeply profound about giving thanks as an experience. Gratitude transforms us. But I can't quite get a handle on appropriate thanksgiving on a large scale -- neither what to be thankful for nor who to be thankful to. If my thanksgiving implies a kind of God I find to be abominable, or implies that my fortune and someone else's lack are somehow divine machinations, then I'd rather keep silent.

But while ultimate questions remain, I do want to thank all who stop by and share their thoughts, and even some of their lives with me. You're friendship, cordiality and conversation make life a little better. And I'll be thinking of you tomorrow when we are carving the turkey.