Massad Ayoob - Thanksgiving 2012

When you get to be my age, one of the things you give thanks for is having survived to celebrate another Thanksgiving.

My brother geezer Bill Goldstein sent me this cool 1950s “car show game.” It challenges you to identify various makes and models from the 1950s. http://www.americantorque.com/game/car-show-50s/

I scored 100%.

I dunno if that’s a bad thing or a good thing.

Hell, I was alive when all of ‘em were new. I remember as a tyke sitting on my dad’s lap as he drove, “helping him steer” his 1950 Oldsmobile 88. I remember learning to drive on his 1955 Pontiac. (That car had the glove box in the center of the dashboard, equally accessible to driver and passenger. Why the hell didn’t THAT handy feature survive to become an auto industry standard?) I remember my sister’s sleek 1957 Buick Roadmaster, and how it started: you turned the ignition, then punched the accelerator to fire up the engine. It seemed quaintly out of place even then. And I remember my very own first car, a ’58 Dodge with push button transmission and, yes, humongous tail fins.

Well, I hope at least that I haven’t (yet) turned into this driver:

On Thanksgiving Day, I’ll join the sweet cookie-baking grandmother with whom I share my life in a quick trip in the geezer van Urban Assault Vehicle to eat and spend much of the day with good friends. Friday will see us helping out at a shooting event for some wounded warriors, and over the weekend, we’ll compete in a pistol match. It should be relaxing and fulfilling.

We wish you all a similarly happy and restorative Thanksgiving.

Massad Ayoob

Massad F. Ayoob is an internationally known firearms and self-defense instructor.

Massad Ayoob has authored several books and more than 1,000 articles on firearms, combat techniques, self-defense, and legal issues, and has served in an editorial capacity for Guns Magazine, American Handgunner, Gun Week, and Combat Handguns.

Massad Ayoob was former Vice Chairman of the Forensic Evidence Committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), and is believed to be the only non-attorney ever to hold this position.

http://massadayoobgroup.com/

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George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

"Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789. "

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The First Thanksgiving Story

A Thanksgiving Prayer

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Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day
We bow our hearts to You and pray.
We give You thanks for all You've done
Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.
For beauty in nature, Your glory we see
For joy and health, friends and family,
For daily provision, Your mercy and care
These are the blessings You graciously share.
So today we offer this response of praise
With a promise to follow You all of our days.

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Medley of Thanksgiving Songs

When we celebrate this Thanksgiving, remember our Soldiers in harms way and lonely for their Families. Say a Prayer for them.

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David Barton - History of Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims set sail for America on September 6, 1620, and for two months braved the harsh elements of a storm-tossed sea. Upon disembarking at Plymouth Rock, they held a prayer service and then hastily began building shelters; however, unprepared for such a harsh New England winter, nearly half of them died before spring.

Emerging from that grueling winter, the Pilgrims were surprised when an Indian named Samoset approached them and greeted them in their own language, explaining to them that he had learned English from fishermen and traders.

A week later, Samoset returned with a friend named Squanto, who lived with the Pilgrims and accepted their Christian faith. Squanto taught the Pilgrims much about how to live in the New World, and he and Samoset helped forge a long-lasting peace treaty between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians.

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