30 Things I'm Thankful For: Day 18

The King James Bible and the Riverside Shakespeare.  Together they probably represent the zenith of my cultural enlightenment.

Mom always says that all figures of speech come from either the bible or Shakespeare. (This link is  a National Geo article on the bible...) And I love the language of both.

"If a child is ever the apple of her parents' eye or an idea seems as old as the hills, if we are at death's door or at our wits' end, if we have gone through a baptism of fire or are about to bite the dust, if it seems at times that the blind are leading the blind or we are casting pearls before swine, if you are either buttering someone up or casting the first stone, the King James Bible, whether we know it or not, is speaking through us. The haves and have-nots, heads on plates, thieves in the night, scum of the earth, best until last, sackcloth and ashes, streets paved in gold, and the skin of one's teeth..."

30 Things I'm Thankful For: Day 17

Beautiful places in the world.  Of all kinds.

And so many, many more.

30 Things I'm Thankful For: Day 16

Weather.  I'm thankful for an interesting variety.

Sun, heat.

Rain.

Snow.

Hurricanes.

If not for weather, what would we talk about with strangers?

30 Things I'm Thankful For: Day 15

I'm thankful for maps.  They are just the right combination of concrete fact and imagination.

We have three hanging on walls right now.  What else is both art and functional?

When I have a map laid out on a table I want to plan a trip.

Medieval mapmakers inked in the unknown places, "Here be Dragons." 

Don't know about you, but that just screams to me: "Come and see!"

30 Things I'm Thankful For: Day 14

Grey hairs.  Some of them actually earned.(Here with my friend Balzac at the Rodin museum...)

Experience: some call it the school of hard knocks.

I'm thankful for experience that has taught me patience and perspective. They are my best hope for peace.  "Experience keeps a dear school," said Ben Franklin, "yet fools will learn in no other."

The trouble with studying in the school of experience is you never graduate.

30 Things I'm Thankful for: Day 13

Family:  sisters and brother.

In-laws and outlaws.

Extended family.

"If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair. Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'you know, we're alright. We are dang near royalty.' "
Jeff Foxworthy

30 Things I'm Thankful For: Day 12

I'm thankful for accountants. They make the world go around.

No, really.  Hear me out.
If an idea takes more than one person, accounts must be kept.
If it takes any serious amount of money or materials, accounts must be kept.
If there are investors or loans or stockholders, accounts must be kept.
If there is a client, or an owner to be answered to, accounts must be kept.

So those cool engineering projects would never get started without accountants.
Projects like bridges.  

And skyscrapers.  

And space exploration.  

And movies, although I've heard Hollywood accounting is "creative," and hospitals and well, just about everything.  So here's a big hats off--uh..er...green eye-shades off to all of you buttoned down, buttoned up accounting types, who don't get the recognition you deserve. (Extra points for identifying this movie...)

P.S.  Did you know that Paul Bunyan had an accountant?  Name of Johnny Inkslinger, and he used ink by the barrel. See how important they are?