Yesterday afternoon, while out delivering copies of my newest novel to area libraries, I came upon a group of six or seven turkeys standing alongside the highway, so I stopped to let them pass safely across the road in front of me, and then I snapped a quick photo of the stragglers.
At the moment, I thought how lucky I was — it was broad daylight, so I spotted the large birds before they stepped onto the road; the road was free of other traffic, so I was able to stop and wait the birds out; and I was in the right spot at the right time to see them.
Afterwards, I thought how lucky those birds were to be roaming freely at this time of year when many other turkeys are about to become the main course of many a Thanksgiving meal. Even I have a frozen turkey tucked away for the occasion, but I still hope these six or seven birds continue to enjoy their freedom beyond the upcoming holiday.
I love Thanksgiving, for reasons other than the good food that usually accompanies it. I love it for the sentiment behind it.
Of course, we don’t need a special day to be thankful for all we have, but it’s nice to gather together as many of the people we love at one time and share a day with them.
I’m thankful for many things. Currently, after returning from three great weeks in Mexico where I stayed at my friend’s house in Merida, I’m very thankful for the time we had together and the experiences I had there (you can read about some here if interested and if you haven’t done so already: Mexico blog post).
I’m also thankful to be home again and back into my own routine. After taking cold showers for three weeks and not being able to flush the toilet paper, I’m very thankful for warm showers and the fact that we can flush toilet paper here. I’m also beyond thankful that I live in one of the few (roughly 50 out of 195) countries in the world where the water that comes out of my faucet is completely potable — it’s a luxury that we take for granted and one I’m so grateful we have.
Naturally, I’m thankful for all my family and friends, my house, my pets, my car and motorcycle, my health, and the beauty that abounds in nature.
Additionally, though, I’m extremely thankful to be living a literary life where I write and read every day. I’m grateful for every person who has read one of my books, told others about it, and helped me along in my writing journey. I’m blessed to be doing what I love every single day.
I’m thankful for each library that houses my books and each librarian who displays them, tells others about them, and continues to support me as an author.
I’m especially grateful for Kim. Without him and his financial support, I wouldn’t have been able to leave teaching when I did to pursue my lifelong dream of writing full time. This latest novel is dedicated to him because it’s a ghost story involving a motorcycle, and he and I met because we both have motorcycles and we are both American Legion Riders.
I’m thankful for my little writing room at home, my bookshelves full of books throughout my house, the laptop upon which I’m writing this, solid journals and writing pens for my drafts and notes, the sun streaming through the window right now, the quiet that surrounds me, and the knowledge that once I “publish” this it can be read by people all over the world.
The readers are the people I’m most thankful for as a writer. Without readers, I wouldn’t be anywhere as a writer/author. Thank you for being a reader of “Tomes and Topics,” and thank you even more if you’ve read any of my six novels, my column, any of my feature stories, any of my blog posts, etc. I love to write and would do it whether I had readers or not, but having readers takes the joy of writing to another level.
I would love to hear what you are thankful for, especially if it’s something unique.
I am going to take next week off to enjoy the time with my family. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I’ll see you again at the beginning of December! At that point, I’ll reinstate the paywall and share things only for paying subscribers, so please consider becoming one. Thanks again for being a reader.
Tammy Marshall