Carv's Thinky Blog I'm an author with a focus on satirical science fiction.

Thankfully…

Grammar purists look askance at casual usage of the word "thankfully," as in, "Thankfully, my car wasn't damaged." They point out that my car wasn't thankful at all, as it's an inanimate object. (Same goes for "hopefully.") And given that I'm agnostic, Christians could rightfully ask me to whom (or Whom) I'm grateful in a sentence like, "I'm thankful for the blessings I've received." Well, I don't know, friends, and frankly, I don't care much this Thanksgiving morning. Call it God, call it karma, personification of fate, or the light side of the Force, I know life hands me things I appreciate sometimes. I needn't be a Southern Baptist to take a moment to savor how good I have it.

Why, just look at my friends list on Facebook. I'm friends with over 500 people, some of whom I actually know. As I scan down the list, I'm reminded time and time again that--and I mean this sincerely--my close friendships are what I value most. My friends have stuck with me through thick and thin (well,...kinda thin...way back in college...it's been decades). So what am I thankful for, this rainy Washington Turkey Day? Very possibly you.

I'm thankful most of all for my beautiful, brilliant, hilarious, practical, sensitive, romantic, whimsical, sexy-ass wife. This has been the best year of my life, and it's almost entirely because of her. She's been my good luck charm for four years now, and I demand forty more. Also, I appreciate the fact that she won't give me too hard a time about the second helping of pie I intend to devour this afternoon, and I appreciate how gently she'll nag me back into the gym once this play I'm in staggers to its feet.

I'm thankful for a role I didn't get, the role of Richard Nixon at Tacoma Little Theater. Through Frost/Nixon, I made over a dozen amazing new friends and had one of the best times I've ever had performing in a show. I'm thankful to Brie Yost for casting me as Bob Zelnick, and for doing such a proficient and inspiring job as director. If you're an actor in the Tacoma/Olympia corridor, you should work with her as soon as humanly possible. I'm also thankful to Alleena, Anjelica, and Sarahann for letting me bunk on their side of the stage. I remember that show as a two-month undergraduate party, and it completely revitalized my enjoyment of acting.

I'm thankful for my Oklahoma and Hollywood friends, and to Mark Zuckerberg, who keeps them all present in my life on an hourly basis. I'm thankful to Eric Moore for making the trek out here in September. I mean it, bro. That meant more to me than you probably realize, and it meant just as much to Amanda. You really are my best man.

I'm thankful to everyone who contributed to our wedding, our reception, and our honeymoon in Orlando. Each occasion was perfect. I'm a lifelong perfectionist, and I'm telling you without a trace of exaggeration that they were perfect from beginning to end. So thank you. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoyed the taco truck. California Tacos--try some today! The torta Cubana's especially awesome.

I'm thankful to my family for not being insufferable. Last night Amanda and I caught up on some holiday-week sitcom episodes, and every one of them was about squabbling families who dread seeing each other on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don't feel that way. Granted, there have been bumps and bruises along the way, but that's to be expected. On this Thanksgiving morning, I got nothin' but love for y'all, on the real, yo. Peace.

Why am I writing like that? I have zero idea. It's fun, though. You should try it, homey.

I'm thankful for our circle of trust here in Washington, especially Linza Cook, the adopted brother who'll be leaving us soon for Sparklevampire Country. We're proud of you, Linza, and we'll miss you terribly. I know it's only a few hours away, but Jesus, man, Forks?! You know how I feel about Stephenie Meyer, that no-talent rag-pile of Mormon dryer lint. You could do so much better.

I'm thankful to John Munn and Josh Anderson for casting me in two very different shows, Oleanna and A Christmas Story. I'm proud to have both on my resume, and you have such an incredible range of talents. It's an honor to work with you.

I'm thankful to Amanda's family for swallowing their worries and accepting a left-leaning, snarky, hyperintellectual, agnostic, Hispanic sourpuss into the fold. I think the fact that I love their daughter as much as they do contributes to the success of our arrangement. Now I just hope you can overlook that novel I'm writing...

I'm thankful for gainful employment. I earned that, God knows, and I have to keep earning it every day, but so have a lot of other people who are spending this Thanksgiving in a panic over impending financial ruin. I'm so far ahead of last year, Gentle Reader, you have no earthly idea. It's a rags-to-relative-riches story, and I fall asleep many nights thanking my personal angels for the turnaround.

I'm thankful that I have a past worth feeling nostalgic about, a present that thrills me each day, and a future adventure I can hardly wait to experience. Five years ago, I identified with Hamlet, who decided on balance that life was not worth living. This year I think he was nuts, not just north-by-northwest mad but full-on bonkers.

If there is a God (maybe), if He pays any attention at all to life on Earth (by no means guaranteed), and if the Big Man Upstairs plays any part in the micromanagement of our lives (almost certainly not), then all I can say is He's done right by me this year. I didn't pray for any of it. Fundamentalists would say I deserve only death and despair. Yeah, they're wrong. God lets His rain fall on the just and the unjust alike, but guess what? He gives sunshine as well. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. We've earned it, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be grateful to receive it. Shalom.