It's Thanksgiving. Time to be thankful for all the good things.
In English, when we want to thank someone especially strongly, we often say something like "Thanks So much/Thanks very much" to express our gratitude. Other languages often up the praise level. Arabic says "Alf shukran" (thanks a thousand times!!!). Not just "thank you" but thank you one thousand times. Italian has the same way of multiplying their thank yous by 1000(Grazie Mille)
Since our national holiday of Thanksgiving is right in front of us, I realized that I needed to say something...in writing to express my gratitude to all the people who made my life richer and more meaningful. I needed to stop and say "grazie mille" to at least 1000 people... but I'll try to limit my task to something doable (and readable).
Where to begin? Maybe in my own backyard.
Five or six years ago, my new neighbor who had just moved in from Texas, decided he was going to get serious about cleaning up the horrific mess that had accumulated over decades of neglect behind his house, So he systematically had trees cut, brush dug up, flowers and shrubs planted and new grass installed and the rotting shed and rusting hulks of useless lawn equipment removed. Obviously it was a lot of work and I was more than willing to help whenever possible because his upgrades helped me directly. My property was improved whenever his improved. Win, win. So hats off to you Ruben(now back in Texas) for all the hard work...in other words...Grazie Mille.
And then, I really need to offer a special note of thanks to my neighbor on the other side of my house, George Morrison. This past August, I made the tragic assumption that the weather in August would follow the usual pattern of the past several years, with bone dry days of drought all the way into mid-September. Surprise! This year, August came in with drenching rains and lots of hot steamy weather to spur the grass growth to spectacular new heights while I was away baking in the Italian sun. My grass in the back yard really didn't care where I was. It was happy to just grow and grow and grow. Finally,my wife in desperation asked George Morrison if he could come to the rescue, which he did of course. Hours later and with numerous pauses to clear away the huge clumps clogging grass from his lawn mower, he was finally able to return to his own home victorious. Just another day fighting nature to a standoff. So once again, George...Grazie Mille for rescuing my back yard from the racoons.
Not to be outdone, my neighbor one house away(next to Ruben) is Ralph Bennett. Ralph is my go to source whenever I try to do anything involving home repairs or just trying to figure out how a screwdriver works. Ralph, a former Vietnam helicopter repair expert can weld metals together, mend broken doors(like mine), sharpen lawn mower blades(like mine), fix broken Christmas light strings(like mine), and advise me what to do to fix the stripped threads on my car's oil pan. His labor of love spanning several decades is to constantly work on restoring his 1963 US Army Dodge repair vehicle which he found rustiing away in a salvage yard nearby and he brought it back to a new meaningful life in his garage/repair shop. So Ralph, as we both know, I will be back to seek some sort of rescue from you in the very near future and the very far future as well. Thanks so much. Grazie Mille as they say in Italy.
Ralph Bennett securing his Army Repair truck to his trailer for a show, I'm impressed.
Now lehomemove a bit further afield. My rigid habit in the morning is to take a long walk, no matter whether I'm in Foxboro or in another location, like Lucca. This routine is what I call my mental health requirement. My daily walk is institutionialized. My walk allows me to stroll in Mother Natures Cathedral and to meet delightful people along the way. It allows me to verify that the world is still here and in reasonably good order. Fox news can't find me on my daily walk. Just my friends and acquaintences are there and that suits me perfectly. People along my habitual route know when to expect me and I usually try to warn folks along the way if I intend to be gone for months at a time. I have people tell me if I'm late or if (God forbid) I'm absent. I can honestly say that of the few dozen people who I recognize and speak with on a regular basis here in Foxboro, 98% of them are on my walking route. My walk is my connection with real (genuine) people. They help keep me sane. And they are the reason I keep walking. Thus, to all the people like Dave Crimmins, Morgan, Brandon,Fiona, and Gavin Steacy, Dante and Patty, Beth and Mark Ferencik, Beverly Lord, Dan Schuster, Phil Lundt, Al Bradner, Ed Baldwin, Lee and Cindy Scott, and all the others who give me daily joy, let me say...Grazie Mille.
Now let's move even further afield. Let's pretend that I spend several weeks every year in Italy, visiting friends and lounging around in Paradise. Nice work, if you can get it. Let's also assume that I regularly write posts about Lucca, in Tuscany and what a joy it would be to share the place with others. Yawn. For some odd reason, a few people I write to actually got on a plane over the past 14 months and endured the travel hell to physically visit me in Lucca. My nephew Davis was the first to dare to experience the joys of post Covid travel last October. Then in June of 2023, my daughter Cotton came with her husband Jason and the 2 kids, Toby and Spencer. And most recently, my 2 sisters Jean and Barb ignored the pain of the 6,000 mile trip to visit Lucca in mid October. I've got pictures to prove this! I was so honored to have these people risk life and limb to come to visit my favorite hangout that I really must say Grazie Mille. It really meant a lot to have them see and experience what I have been so privileged to appreciate.
My sisters Barb (left)& Jean (right) braved the airlines and the distance to visit me.
Cotton, Jason, & the guys on a tour of the wall in Lucca.
Nephew Davis who fell in love with Florence. Good choice!
When I was much younger, my big ambition was to travel the world and to see lots of "stuff". The Eifel Tower in Paris, the Pyramids of Giza, the Acropolis in Athens, the Prado Museum in Madrid, etc. But now my travel objectives have changed completely in old age, Now I travel to see people. I know the clock is ticking and I don't have the luxury of youth any more. Other objectives take priority. I remember being told during one of my French classes in College that Europeans rarely invite you into their homes because they just don't have the space or the facilities to entertain guests. Somehow that advice never seemed to be true from my own experience. Or perhaps when I was invited into other people's homes, I knew it was a special privilege and a window into the local culture that I couldn't get any other way. Being invited inside someone elses home was to be able to access their lives from the inside. In so many places around the globe I've been granted access to people in their homes and that has meant the world to me. I get to experience their culture from their perspective, unfiltered. And so to all those people like Sergio and Rori in Italy, Peter and Tanya in Prague, and Claude Olivier in France who have invited me into their homes, I must say I am deeply honored and I owe it to them to say Grazie Mille!
At home with Peter and Tanya in Prague. Always delightful.
Homemade Tartiflettes at Claudes home in Evian. Fabulous.
And now to try to wrap this up and get on with thr real business of Thanksgiving...overeating at the overflowing banquet of in-laws, the Sauers.. Tradition has it that we get invited to my daughters home where they go through all the enormous work of hosting Thanksgiving Dinner for the whole extended family which usually means 20-25 people for the afternoon. No one could ever talk me into such an undertaking. I'd never recover from the trauma of trying to cook for 25 people! But my son in law seems to think this behavior is "normal". OK. I'm more than happy to let someone else cook. So, my eternal thanks must include saying Grazie Nille to James Sauer and family for hosting the entire family around a totally overwhelming feast.
So that's it. All the thousands of things that have enriched my life throughout the years and we spend a mere 24 hours trying to think of why our lives are so fortunate and rich. I just couldn't let this holiday slip by without trying to say thank you a thousand times to all the people who make life worth living for me. It's been quite a ride and it ain't over yet. Thanks so much. That's my story this Thanksgiving. And I'm stickin to it.
GRAZIE MILLE.
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