Alaska Star

http://www.alaskastar.com/index.shtml

Alaska Star-->Story Last modified at 11:46 a.m. on Monday, November 28, 2005

From A to Z - things to be thankful for

Alaska, Alaska Highway, alpenglow, armrests, attics, audio books, aurora borealis.

Bait casters, B.B. guns, beaver dams, bees, bears, Birchwood, bowls made of clay that kids make, bug spray.

Cabins, Car Talk, cat doors, change jars, chimneys, choices, christians (only the quiet, humble, lower-case-C type who do good rather than the loud, arrogant upper-case-C variety who tell others to do good), Chugiak, Chugiak High School Choir, civil disobedience, community councils, Converse All Stars, Constitution, Copper River, courtrooms, creaky floorboards, crooked creeks, crossing guards.

Dawn, delete buttons, democracy, Denali, depth perception, dew, dipnets, Dodge Darts, dogsleds, dragonflies, dreams, driftwood, dry clothes, duct tape.

Eagles, Eagle River, Eagle River Road, Eagle River Valley, Eagle River Wolves, Earth, eBay, Election Day, elementary school plays, elephants, empty in-boxes.

Farsightedness, fellowship, finding a feather, firefighters, fireweed, firewood, first love, first snow, fizz, flannel, flush toilets, folding chairs, footrests, forest floors, foresightedness, forgiving friends, freethinking, fresh fish, fresh fruit, Fridays, fuzz.

German shepherds, ginger ale, glaciers, glass, grass, grass roots campaigns, grocers.

Hand-me-downs, hardware stores, Heidi's spirit, horses, hot water, Huck Finn, huskies.
Intelligent debate, I don't know, iPods.

Jelly beans (only the little ones that come in those creative flavors, such as root beer), Jimmy Carter, junk drawers.

Karma (only good), kazoos, kickstands, killer whales, kites, knock-knock jokes (only when kids tell them.)

Lakes, lantern light, lasagna, laughter, leather, leftovers, lemonade stands, libraries, Lions Club Thanksgiving dinner, live-and-let-live, Little League coaches, little lies, loons, lunch boxes, lynx.
Magic shows, Mallo Cups, mapmakers, McMurtry novels, memories, meteor showers, moderation, moonlit mountains, moose, mushrooms, Mustangs, mutts.

Natural selection, nicknames, night tables, North Star, Novocain, now, nurses.

Oak dressers, Op-Ed pages, old friends, old growth forests, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," open meetings, opposable thumbs, owls, ozone layer.

Paperboys (and girls), parents of adopted children, PBS, peanut butter (only Jiff creamy), pebbles (except in my shoe), penguins, Peters Creek, Phil Hendrie Show, Photoshop, pianos, plaid, pockets (only big and deep ones), pocketknives, poets, polar ice cap, polar bears, pressure cookers, ptarmigan.

Q-Tips (Though I haven't used one for years, I'm grateful that they are still available in case I ever want one.)

Rain, rainbows, rain checks, ravens, reading lights, reflective tape, reindeer, rest areas, rolodexes, rotary phones, root beer, roundabouts, rubber bands.

Salmon streams, Schwinn Continentals, scorekeepers, Scout leaders, Scrabble, scratch paper, sea ice, second chances, seesaws, Senior Center, serenity, simple solutions, sky, slant six engines, sled dogs, sleep, sleeping bags, Sleeping Lady, snow, soap, songbirds, soup, south-facing slopes, spaghetti, spaghetti westerns, Steelers.

Teachers, term limits, thrift stores, Thermos bottles, today, Tonka Trucks, troops.
United Nations, United States, United States presidents (only those who don't divide the country by lambasting half - or more - of the people whenever those people question his policies), United We Stand.

Veterans, veterinarians, volunteers, voters.

Wagging tails, walking sticks, water, wax, We the People, whales, when you want nothing, wilderness, wind, windmills, wolves, wrinkles don't hurt.

X-rays that come back negative.

Yarn, yarns, yo-yos (only Duncans).

Ziplock storage bags (except when you forget to open them before attempting to slip in a slimy salmon fillet).
- Tony Bickert