HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2009

Today is the last Thanksgiving Day of the decade. It's been an interesting ten years. Some has been very happy and some (like in 2001 has been extremely sad) Another decade is upon us. What will it bring? Electric cars are on their way I am told-- won't that be rich when the price of gas will plummet because there is no longer a demand for it! I am grateful and so thankful to have not one job (albeit part time) but two which can be as many hours as I need to fill in the rest. As much as I love Disneyland, I would never have guessed that I would be working there. But there I will be starting this Saturday afternoon at Two O' Clock in the afternoon. Right there on Main Street USA , in the biggest retail space in the park The Emporium. And here's the plus -- catty corner from Walt's old private apartment above the Main Street Fire House. The light in that magic window (which is kept lighted always) is a gentle reminder to all of us as to who exactly this amazingly great but simple man actually was. Intrinsic is a wonderful word and it kind of sums up Walt best-- because without any more than a grammar school's education, the man with the famous mouse was intrinsic about music, screen stories, amusement parks, and best of all the public. He knew what they would embrace and he knew what they would not. As far as Thanksgiving itself, this will be the first that I will be without a beard or a goatee in almost thirteen years-- shaving was required for the Disneyland job-- but hey-- change is good. Thanksgiving origins are interesting to note. The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. The traditional "first Thanksgiving" is the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621. The Plymouth celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. The celebration became an important part of the American myth by the 1800s. This Thanksgiving, modeled after celebrations that were commonplace in contemporary Europe, is generally regarded as America's first. Elementary school teacher Robyn Gioia has argued that the earliest attested "thanksgiving" celebration in what is now the United States was celebrated by the Spanish on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends. So Happy Thanksgiving to all. I am so grateful to my friends. Especially dear Tim Doran -- bar none without him, I would not be a songwriter today. My thanks and prayers are with him today. I am grateful too to my writing partner, John Nugent-- what a genius! What an amazing composer! He was gift wrapped by the Lord and given to me as a grand present in September 2007-- Thank you, dearest God!