Counting our blessings

Oftentimes holidays can become more about the preparation than the actual day. For Thanksgiving, so much time is devoted to the cooking and suffering through conversations with relatives, it is so easy to forget to count our blessings and be thankful.

In the spirit of our ancestors, who never ceased to be thankful to the Native Americans for peacefully yielding all of their land after being treated to a feast of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, I will count the many blessings of this past week.

First, NBA owners and players finally grew weary of bickering about their billion-dollar industry and ended the 149-day lockout, which has already deprived the American public of the first few weeks of games. The fans who haven’t become too jaded by the whole fiasco will be treated to a triple-header season opener on Christmas day.

The cynics will watch as grown men, who previously couldn’t agree on the quantity of millions of dollars they deserve for throwing a ball around, play a game while the rest of the country is suffering through the recession.

Second, on a related note, Indiana basketball is undefeated, allowing Hoosier fans to happily forget the football season that concluded this weekend with IU at the bottom of the Big Ten.

Third, after UC Davis students were mercilessly pepper sprayed for peacefully protesting and after the incident in Los Angeles where a woman wielded pepper spray in a Black Friday shopping frenzy, I am very grateful to have had a capsicum-free Thanksgiving break. But I was forced to eat some brussel sprouts. Which is worse has yet to be determined.

Fourth, NASA has launched a rover to Mars to explore the planet for signs of life. Why should we be thankful for this? Well, it is the first step toward provoking extraterrestrial life into an all-out war with Earth.

It’s giving cause for humanity to put aside differences of how to keep Mexicans out of America or which Arab government to topple next in a unified effort against a common enemy. World peace will finally be realized.

Fifth, George Michael became sick this week and canceled the remainder of his tour.

Sixth, during the third quarter, the United States GDP grew at a 2 percent annual rate. Although this is lower than the 2.5 percent estimated, it is better than living in Burma.

Last, it looks like the GOP might be falling out of love with nasty Newt. Although, in an ironic twist, it’s not for his previous displays of heartlessness, but for suggesting that illegal immigrants with roots in their communities be allowed a path to “legality,” so as not to tear them away from their families.

­— sdance@indiana.edu