I drove down to Savannah. I stayed a couple of weeks (which is why I drove). I will now try to catalog the things I am thankful for from that trip.
Google Maps/Waze -- miraculous things, really. Not only do I not need maps, I don't even need to know the directions, they just tell you what to do and when to do it, even routing you around construction and accidents when it is optimal. Young'uns are saying "Yeah, so?" But to anyone old enough to remember cross country trips from the days of yore it's a miracle. If you had told 10 year old me in the back of the family car, with everyone yelling at everyone else over every wrong turn or missed exit, that in the future you could just give a little machine the address you wanted to get to and it would guide you their effortlessly, I would have said you're reading too much sci-fi. A lot of modern tech is pointless crap, but mapping apps are a world changer.
My car works flawlessly -- this was not previously the case. Prior to the ascendance of Toyota and Honda, all cars were, by current standards, unreliable. A multi-day road involved a constant low-level dread that your car would simply fail and leave you stranded. You just prayed that when it happened you were in reach of help, otherwise you were left at the mercy of the road. Hopefully other drivers might offer a ride to the next exit, or at least not serial kill you. My car has 140,000 miles on it and it is superior to literally every new car made before 1980, and most before 2000. Perspective breeds gratitude.
I'm rich -- OK, I'm not rich. But by any measure of the expectations of my youth or when compared to 99% of the global population, I am rich. I have a house in Savannah that I purchased entirely for the sake of convenience of people I love. Even if I'm not actually rich, I am rich, if you get my meaning.
Home office technology -- ridiculously, I have a home office in both my homes, each with multiple monitors, and the tech miracles of the day allow me to be in constant face to face contact with people all over the world. I can work from anywhere, which may sound like hell to a lot of people, but for me it means I only need to use vacation time when I am actually taking vacation. If I go to Savannah and my loved ones are working I don't have to take time off except when they are free to enjoy it with me. Not to belabor the point, but thoughtlessly video-conferencing is another sci-fi dream from my youth.
At least I have my health -- Yeah, it takes a lot of work, and it'll never be what it once was, but the old bones are hanging in there, arthritis notwithstanding. Ands miracle drugs…well, that's a topic for later--
Loving and Being Loved -- Somebody once said happiness is not the purpose of life. The purpose of life is to love and be loved and accept the consequences. Fair. I think I'm doing OK at both. But happiness, or at least gratitude, is a nice bonus. The family that has welcomed me into it are among the most thoughtful and well-adjusted people I have ever known.
I hope your Thanksgiving was as good as mine.
