It’s Thanksgiving week. That means, we should take time and reflect on what we have to be grateful for. Here is my little Thanksgiving story…
I drove to Laguna Beach last week.
One of the many things I’m thankful for is that the Pacific Ocean is only about 2 hours away from Palm Springs–if you have a car, that is. If you had to walk, it would probably take a few days. So be thankful if you have a car. And if you don’t, be thankful you have feet. And if you don’t have feet, well…be grateful you don’t have to buy shoes! They’re expensive!
Before I left for Laguna, I stopped at the post office. I wanted to pick up some stamps. I know most of the people at my post office. I actually enjoy going there. I’m grateful for the post office people! Eddy sometimes gets there early, just to help me mail cookbooks and CDs. Davona has a Slim Man Cooks cookbook. And Bill has two dogs; they are Shih Tzu-Poodle mixes, a breed he calls a Shih-Tpoo.
So Bill tells me the only stamps he has are “planet” stamps, stamps that feature photos of our solar system. I bought a sheet and stuffed them in my bag; I didn’t even look at them. I needed stamps because I wanted to send thank-you postcards from Laguna Beach.
I’d played in San Antonio the week before, and wanted to express my thanks. I’m a grateful guy! I thought that postcards from Laguna would be a lot cooler than your regular, everyday thank-you notes.
When I got to Laguna Beach, I parked my car, and walked to the little boardwalk that winds along the shoreline. The sun was setting; it was a glorious. Then I crossed the street, and walked until I found a little shop with some very cool Laguna Beach postcards. I bought some.
I went back to the boardwalk and decided to write some thank-you postcards. The postcards were fancy and beautiful and expensive. The first card I wrote was to a business associate who had organized the huge Slim Man San Antonio concert. He’s become a good friend. He also has a radio show, and I addressed the thank-you postcard to the radio station, to his attention.
Then, I took out my sheet of planet stamps. I peeled one off, stuck it on the postcard, and checked it out. There was a beautiful photo of a planet on the stamp. And above the glorious photo, was the name of the planet…
URANUS.
Seriously.
It got me thinking, which is dangerous for me because of my ailment, Attention Surplus Syndrome. Which brilliant astronomer came up with that name? And why? Was Mybuttcheek already taken? Was Hisasscrack not available?
Weren’t there other astronomers in the room, calling this guy out? “Hey! You can’t call our new planet Uranus! That’s disgusting!” Or were they all laughing and saying, “Do you think people will really let us get away with this? Let’s go for it!”
I’m not sure how all this happened and I’m not sure I want to know. All I know is…I have a pricey postcard addressed to a colleague with a stamp on it that says “Uranus”. True story!
I hope he has a sense of humor. The most important thing is that I expressed my thanks, right?
So let’s give thanks for everyone and everything during this Thanksgiving. Let’s even give thanks for Uranus. Imagine what life would be like without it.
Who loves ya?
-Uncle Slimmy
Slim Man is a singer, songwriter, and cookbook author. You can check out his cookbook, CDs, and concert schedule at www.slimman.com
