Today I Start my Life Anew..!!

When I was a kid, this was one of the best days of the year because in the bottom corner of the newspaper (remember those?) there would be a little box that said 'XX Shopping Days Left' before Christmas and that started 'the countdown'... Every kid on the street knew the day count... Stores were closed on Sundays, so they didn't count, so in our heads we had to 'do the math' to add those sundays to the count to 'the big day'.

There was no charge cards back then... (charge cards started to show up a few years later)... Instead, there was 'lay-away' and my Mom and I would walk to the store (almost all purchases happened within walking distance) to make payments on items she put on 'lay-away' during the summer-time sales... Most of the time it was things like socks, underwear and clothes we would need... All the stores (and most of the houses) were lit up and decorated and it looked awesome when there would be snow on the ground... Especially in the morning when Kenny and I would be delivering newspapers... Only our footprints could be seen on the street until the rest of the world woke up.

We were taught the 'Thanksgiving Story' in school... Most of it was true, but a big part of it was left out... The 'Pilgrims' (spoken in my best John Wayne voice) were sponsored by wealthy Europeans to establish what would be a 'socialist state' in the new world... Everything was to be shared equally and it was... It was an epic failure... Because there was no incentive, most kicked back and expected 'someone else' to do the work... As a result, they were starving.

Finally, their 'leader' (William Bradford) said 'enough is enough'... He divided the land and gave each of the 40 original 'pilgrims' their own land... They could do with it whatever they wanted, and anything they gained from it they would get to keep... And they thrived... The 'Indians' (I can say that as I am part 'Indian') had taught them how to hunt, fish and farm... Working for their own benefit, they were thriving and that is when the big Thanksgiving Celebration took place.

I am writing this on Thanksgiving morning... It is almost 8:00 am... As usual, there will be a feast here in a few hours... I am going to 'deep-fry' a massive 28 lb turkey... (there are many to feed)... hehe... Our feast consists of all the stuff each will bring... And hopefully the Buffalo Bills will win the football game later on.

I'm sure each of you have your own stories too... I remember both the 'good times' as well as the 'not-so-good times'... We were a family and that is what mattered most to us... I don't think we realized that back then... Sheesh, my Mom and Dad were a lot smarter than we thought they were!! hehe...

Thanks for Stoppin' By...
That's it for now... I'll talk to you guys tomorrow...
Keep the Faith... Better Days and Higher Love are comin' soon...

daniel "whelland" dowd

The daily horoscope for Cancer deals heavily on your ability to be adaptable to changing conditions and this would be a good time to look for new avenues for future growth and prosperity... This is a chart that indicates this is a 'prime-time' for new beginnings (starting new projects)... It is when your intuition is at extremely high levels too... What is obvious to you, will take others a while before they catch on.

...Show some Love...