Some Good News
by Alex McRae

The 2007 Holiday Season is officially over. We've all counted our presents and soon, we'll be counting the cost. But this is also the perfect time to count something else ... the blessings this past year delivered to our doorsteps.

I've had more than my share, most unexpected and almost all undeserved. But I'm glad to have them and, with your indulgence, would like to share some here. Maybe this will encourage the rest of you to make a list of your own. Nothing's better for chasing away those holiday blues.

In 2007, I was thankful because:

• No one in my family developed a serious illness.

• My first grandchild, Bella Ruth McRae, was born.

• None of the Christmas gifts I received had to be returned.

• None of the Christmas gifts I gave had to be returned (as far as I know, and as long as I don't know, that's all that counts).

• I took some short but sweet trips with my lovely bride.

• All my steroid tests were negative.

• I didn't get sued.

• I didn't receive any correspondence from the IRS.

• I didn't get tased (although the next time I'm threatened by cops offering a shocking solution to a problem, I'll be ready to say, "Don't tase me, bro").

• I managed to avoid the NBA altogether.

• I didn't go to a rap concert, which is one of the main reasons why:

• I didn't get shot. Or robbed, stabbed, pickpocketed, carjacked, hijacked or ordered to sensitivity training.

• I didn't see a single UFO (although I did see and take pictures of two "religious" sightings ... Jesus in a shower stall and the Virgin Mary on a folding table).

I'm also thankful that... • My cats began the adjustment to outdoor life with no major injuries, illnesses or trauma. (The "hairball" problem continues, but not on the carpet.)

• The armadillos and raccoons who steal my cats' food didn't come in the house and help themselves to the contents of the refrigerator.

• All my medical and dental procedures went off with no complications.

• I got my car paid off and it didn't die the next month. It just got wrecked, but that one goes on another list.

• Prices didn't go up in the vending machine at work.

• Gas didn't - as some predicted - go to $5 per gallon because of instability in the Middle East or hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, which means I'm also thankful because...

• For the second year in a row, "can't-miss" computer models of the upcoming hurricane season were totally wrong.

I'm also thankful that...

• In a year where foreclosures reached record highs, everyone in my family kept their homes.

• In a year of massive layoffs and downsizing, everyone in my family managed to stay employed.

• Speaking of family, I'm glad Britney Spears (or her baby sister or her babydaddy, K-Fed) isn't a member of mine.

• For the first time in three years, no one I know was killed or injured fighting overseas in the U.S. military. I look forward to the day all American families can share that joy.

• I'm thankful (again) that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir keeps putting on great Christmas concerts. I'm just hoping - for strictly non-religious reasons - they won't be making any concert appearances at the January 2009 presidential inauguration.

Finally, I'm thankful for readers who take the time to comment whether they like what I write or not. It's nice to know you folks are reading, and I hope your list of 2007 blessings is twice as long as mine.

(send your e-mail comments to: alex@newnan.com)