Transitive Verb

As soon as we are able to speak, we express gratitude. We are instructed to say “thank you” with sincerity---and as we get older and learn to appreciate the donor’s effort, we may even begin to mean it. Throughout our lives we thank those--our parents, spouses and relatives, doctors, teachers, co-workers, friends, and many, many others-- who have given us big things and small.

“Thank” is a transitive verb, which, according to the rules of grammar, must have an object. We say thank you, thank me, and thank the fellow sitting under the tree. But today the National Day of Thanksgiving, created to honor the source of “the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies”, has no Object for our transitive verb. Due to the hyper-sensitive excision of God from the public square, our schoolchildren now thank no one in particular. For all they know, the first Thanksgiving arose from the Pilgrims’ desire to have a nice turkey dinner with their friends, the Indians.

Forgotten is the original proclamation by Abraham Lincoln in October, 1863:

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

But enough of this churlishness. Whether one believes that our abundance has been given us by a higher Power, or is the result of hitting the jackpot in a random and capricious universe, most will agree that we’re lucky to be living in the United States of America at the dawn of the twenty-first century.

Life is short and we do not have much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with us. So be swift to love, and make haste to be kind. --Amiel

I'm also thankful that the turkey turned out well and that there's plenty of leftovers.