Part 1
Each year, over the last few years, I’ve asked people over Facebook and through email what it is that they are thankful for this year – as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday. This year is different. There is considerable uncertainty in America, and what had been our norms, in particular allegiance to our Constitution, have been turned upside down.
So, I asked this year: “Yet another Thanksgiving rolls around, and once again I want to ask you what it is you are thankful for … this year. I know this has been a challenging year for many of us. While I know we’re all thankful for families and friends, I’m asking you to dig a bit deeper and tell us, in these turbulent times, what is it for which you are thankful, and that gives you hope for the future.”
The responses came swiftly and in large numbers. Many were thankful for family and friends and health, especially those who faced life threatening health scares this past year. Others responded in much broader terms, referencing current political, social or cultural conditions.
Because of the number of responses, I’m splitting this into two parts, one to run Monday and the other on Tuesday.
For me, I’m thankful to all those who responded, I’m thankful for all readers and supporters of WhatsUpNewp and listeners and supporters of WBLQ radio in Westerly.
Betty-Jo Cugini
(Cugini worked at NBC-10 for 23 years, serving for many years as a producer and news director. She is currently supervisor of new media at the University of Rhode Island, has a radio show on WBLQ in Westerly, and is in the Rhode Island Radio and Television Hall of Fame.)
“Time, Kindness, and Grace.
I am grateful for the gift of time. We often take it for granted. We get so busy that we forget that it is not promised to us.
I am also grateful for the kindness of others and the gift of grace.
As this holiday season rolls on and we look towards the new year, I want to spend my time more wisely and be more present. There are so many wonderful people and organizations in our communities that we think will always be there doing what they do, and assuming they will always be around to lend a hand. This past year, many people have taken a step back because they are not comfortable with where we are in today’s world, feel unappreciated or misunderstood, and, in turn, do not want to get involved.
Whether it is time, talent, or treasure, we have all been given a gift to share. I am thankful for those who do step up and for those who lend a hand where and when they can.
We also need to remember that the next generation is watching, and we need to show them how “many hands make light work” and that they need to get involved where and when they can to carry on the work of those doing it now. We need to feel free to use our voices to express our opinions, not be afraid to disagree, and see it as a time to learn and open our minds to other people’s thoughts and ideas with grace and kindness.
I hope the spirit of the season will not just be for a few weeks, but we will carry the love in our hearts with open minds throughout the year.”
Heather Strout
(Executive Director, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center)
“I am thankful to live in a community, the same wonderful community that my family has lived in for six generations, that cares so deeply for each other. When a need arises, no matter how big or small, this community comes together to lift each other up. We live in a very beautiful place, but the most beautiful part of this island is the hearts of the people who call it home.”
Elliott Wiser
(Wiser spent 38 years in the media industry, most recently as president and general manager of WTSP-TV, a CBS affiliate in Tampa Bay, Florida. He currently teaches at South Florida University, where he also produces a podcast for the Poynter Institute.)
“I am thankful for a great doctor. Dr. Jimmy Post and I served on a hospital board together. We became friends and before that, he became my cardiologist. He is persistent and dogmatic when it comes to his patients. Earlier this year he wanted to do another CT scan. It uncovered a growing aortic aneurysm. One surgeon said I could wait, but Jimmy did not like that answer and sent me to a second surgeon. That surgeon said you need surgery now. This is major surgery with a long recovery period. It is not fun at all. But it saved my life. The surgeon said without it, I would have been dead in a year.
That is why I owe Dr. Jimmy Post my life, and I am thankful for him.”
(President of Brokers Unlimited)
“I’m thankful for the knowledge, the understanding and the ability to forgive. I’m thankful for the memories, thankful for the times spent with family and friends no longer with me. Thankful for the friends far and near, I’m thankful for the hard times that made me stronger and I’m thankful for the love I give to myself, and I’m thankful that most my prayers have been answered.”
Tyler Bernadyn
(Real estate broker and co-owner REMAX Results Rhode Island. President, Newport County Board of Realtors. Real estate contributor to WhatsUpNewp)
“I always appreciate the intentionality behind this question every year…
This Thanksgiving, I’m most thankful for my health and for gaining a clearer, steadier perspective on work–life balance. It’s been a grounding year for me, and I’m grateful for the reminder of what truly matters.
Bethany and I are also expecting our first child in March, and her pregnancy has been smooth so far which is something we don’t take for granted. I’m deeply thankful for our growing family and for the opportunity to become a father. Growing up without a dad, this chapter means everything to me. The chance to welcome our son into the world fills me with hope, purpose, and a sense of gratitude I’ve never felt before.”
Bill Middleton
(Just elected First Selectman of Stonington, CT., a position akin to mayor or town manager. Middletown also owns several restaurants in the Stonington/Mystic area)
“I’m thankful to be able to call Stonington home and to have the honor of having been elected to lead it.”
Nicole Lyons
(Interim Executive Director of Charette Charter High School in Providence)
“I am thankful for my health and support me and my family have.”
Rob Simmons
(Rob Simmons, COL, USAR, Retired. He formerly served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing CT, is a former Stonington First Selectman, served on the staff of the late Senator John Chafee from Rhode Island.)
“I am thankful to have been married to my lovely wife Heidi for 51 wonderful years.
I am thankful for my children who have supported me over a turbulent career in public service.
I am thankful to work on a family farm where fresh food and produce is recovered daily from the fertile soil, where lovely couples are married in a 100-year-old garden, and where music is played to friends and neighbors on sunny summer afternoons.
I am thankful to live in a country where freedom is valued over conformity.
I am thankful to speak freely with Frank Prosnitz on WBLQ without fear of cancellation, compromise or retribution.
For these many things, and many others, I am thankful this Thanksgiving holiday.”