Thinking of past Thanksgivings

I believe it was the Thanksgiving of 1985 when cartoonists all over the world used their work to have us focus on hunger in the world as we were getting ready to perhaps eat too much at our banquet table. The Charlie Brown cartoon had Charlie being asked if he was thinking about the big turkey dinner he was to have later. Charlie answered that he didn’t think about this much. Snoopy, who was listening, thought, “When my bowl is empty I think about it a lot.”

This could be a Snoopy type of year for us all. We will perhaps find ourselves thinking about our previous Thanksgivings — perhaps days before in the grocery story. We all know how food prices have gone up this year.

 There was the use of food and feed crops to make ethanol. This is perhaps being corrected as President Bush had urged from the beginning. Recent news items show a move to non-food crops being used.

Then there is the drought that we are in. Recent statistics were released that showed that Texas agriculture had a loss for 2008 of some $1.4 billion. That is a lot of food that you will not find in your grocery story.

There is also the issue of the high energy prices and the financial crisis of just over a month ago.

Yet, in the long run, just like Snoopy we will be thinking about that Thanksgiving feast as the wonderful aromas reach our noses. 2008 may not have been our best year by a long shot, but I feel we can still count some blessing in our lives to be thankful for.

Have a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving.

Father Samuel Heitkamp is pastor of St. Joan of Arc Church in Kirby and was the director of the former rural life organization in the archdiocese.