Thanksgiving

All things considered, I have much to be thankful for. I won't get maudlin and go into the details...and I hope anyone dropping by this site likewise feels they have much to be thankful for, and is able to celebrate a holiday feast.

Right now, I'm watching the weather, hoping for a small break in the rain--unlikely, based on the forecast, but if it's just a drizzle, I think my car will make it down to New Iberia.

Too bad there isn't a train service that runs, oh, say, from Houston to Jacksonville--I'd hop onboard a train in a second, take the Lafayette stop, and call someone from my family to pick me up. It would make things a hell of a lot easier.

Although there is no longer an easy link to find (and I'm busy/too lazy to look for one) both television news programs ran stories last night about the holiday traffic. In a word: horrible.

But that's what happens when you limit your transportation choices.

Oh sure--back in the day, the railroad companies were probably viewed with as much resentment as the airlines are today--people probably complained about arbitrary schedules, poor service, high fares--but you didn't have to fight traffic.

Almost anyone I've ever talked to has said they'd use rail service if someone restored it (pariticularly to New Orleans). There are even some studies that have been done. But the cost is heavy...especially when you spend all kinds of money on other priorities--like an unnecessary war...

And speaking of unnecessary wars--I do not personally know any of our brave young men and women who are serving overseas--either in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere--but I wish them nothing but the best. For those who pray, please say a prayer for their safety. For those who don't, offer a thought or mantra. Those in harm's way need our support--in my case, I offer my hopes and wishes that they all soon will be reunited with their families and friends, safe and sound--and I am grateful for the work they do to defend the country.

Happy Thanksgiving.