Happy Anniversary America, I Got You On My Mind

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I used to work with a very British chap with the very British name, David Noble. Once, in the lead up to the long July 4th weekend, I asked him his plans. “Ah, July 4th,” he said. “That’s the anniversary of the date you lot kicked us out. We don’t celebrate that.”

No, but he took the day off.

Happy birthday, anniversary, kick-the-Brits-out day, or however you choose to think of it. As troubled as the world is, I am pleased to live in a time when most of it’s people view one another more as neighbors and friendly rivals than as enemies. May we all continue the trend, educate the laggards, make amends for past indiscretions, and remember that the culture we bequeath to the future is at least as important as the skin color genes—or the flags.

Cheers.

What are you thankful for?

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When we first moved to Houston, my daughters were still tykes. As we sat around the table in our new kitchen, I asked what they were thankful for. The eldest gave the expected answer to make any parent proud: her family and friends and her brand new school (which really was a new school–not just new to her).

My youngest looked up, and with an earnest gleam in her eye, said, “I’m thankful for bugs!”

This year, I’m thankful for family and heath and for friendships new and old. I’m thankful for the scientific foundation behind our modern understanding of the world–an understanding that gives us greater responsibility, but far greater opportunity than ever before. And yes, creepy though they may be, for their integral role in our little world, I’m thankful for bugs too.

What are you thankful for?