The Rockaway Times
Hold The Grouch, Pass The Turkey Just because I don’t like hugs or waiting on line, doesn’t make me a curmudgeon— which is what somebody called me the other day. Curmudgeon or curmudgeonly, big SAT word, more or less, means grumpy. I confess to opening a thesaurus to be ready for other similar attacks. A curmudgeon might otherwise be known as a sorehead or grouch. Jeez, I haven’t heard ‘sorehead’ since the 70s. I think a sorehead is more likely to lose his temper than a curmudgeon. A curmudgeon
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2018
is a basic Debbie Downer or a sourpuss. Just because I don’t like hugs or trick-or-treaters who ring the bell after 8 p.m., doesn’t make me a bellyacher or a crank or crosspatch (never heard that one but since the thesaurus is still open…) Anyway, you won’t hear any grumbling and griping from me because it’s Thanksgiving. I don’t care if the batteries fall out of the remote control, I’m going to be thankful for having a TV—which will allow me to watch King Kong and March of
the Wooden Soldiers on Turkey Day. I don’t know why those two movies became Thanksgiving traditions but I give thanks that they are. I couldn’t be a curmudgeon even if I tried—not with the staff I have. We get this paper out every week and people still say nice things about it. And our volunteer columnists? They get no more compensation than a pat on the back and an occasional, attaboy. Each one is essential to the cornucopia of variety we offer each week. Sorry that I had to bend over backwards to use cornucopia in a sentence but I’m trying to stay with the Thanksgiving theme. I guess I could have said there’s a cornucopia of things to be thankful for. I’m thankful for YOU. The Rockaway community has helped The Rockaway Times flourish. I’m thankful that I have the privilege of knowing people who care for others. With them, it doesn’t look like a burden; it looks like love. I’m thankful for family who are friends and thankful for
friends who are family. I’m thankful for all the new friends I’ve made in Rockaway who’ve become old friends. As for my old, old friends, how could I not be thankful for the ties that bind? I’ve got friends from grammar school and high school. We hardly ever see each other but when we do, we pick up right where we left off. You might feel broke once in a while and when you do, it’s worth remembering what George Bailey learned in It’s A Wonderful Life: no man is a failure who has friends. Give me friends over the fancy car and big house any day of the week. My family. My wife and kids. The new place I live in. I’m thankful and I feel like I’m bragging so much that maybe I should just post this on Facebook. I can’t really moan about much, not when I stop and think about the good stuff. Hey, I’m thankful I’ve got 51 other weeks to complain. Happy Thanksgiving!
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