Happy Thanksgiving

Give thanks on Thursday

Benjamin Cox

I love Thanksgiving. It's definitely my favorite holiday, especially as I've grown older. Thanksgiving used to be down on the list, after Christmas and Halloween.

Don't get me wrong, those holidays still rule, but Christmas as a 21-year-old can't compete with Christmas as an 8-year-old.

Thanksgiving is a holiday to reflect, take a look at your life and see what you're thankful for. And even when things could be better, I'm still thankful for many things.

I'm thankful that I was born in a country where I can do and say what I want. I thank God I wasn't born somewhere like Iraq, North Korea or Sudan. I'm thankful that even if we were divided on Nov. 2, there's no violence or coups. We can disagree without bloodshed.

I'm thankful for my family and my roommates. I'm thankful for my friends here in Ohio and around the globe, from California, Colorado or Texas to Germany, France and Ireland.

I'm thankful we beat Michigan, and that when we celebrated, there wasn't any major riots.

I'm thankful I get to write my opinion every week, and I'm thankful for all the responses I get, like telling me my column was dead on or I have a point (rational people) or telling me I'm going to hell (the far right.)

I'm also thankful that Thanksgiving hasn't been overcommercialized (yet) like Christmas. Though Christmas shopping season starts the Friday after, that Thursday is still a nice, calm day. Since I've been at Ohio State, I've always looked forward to Thanksgiving. I mean, after a quarter of dorm food, fast food or (even worse) food I've made myself, just the thought of a homemade Thanksgiving meal makes my mouth water.

Not only do I get to see family members I've missed while at school, I also get to see friends of mine who didn't go to OSU (losers.) Thanksgiving is a time to catch up with old high school friends, to see how people have changed since you last saw them. Who gained weight? Who's going bald? Who broke up and who stayed together? Who (shudder) is getting married? Who has a kid? I can see which friends have changed, and the ways in which some never will.

Thanksgiving also gives us an entire day of football. It's not officially Thanksgiving to me until the Lions lose on national television. However, my day of football doesn't just include the NFL; since my junior year of high school, I've spent my fall looking forward to our annual game of football: The Turkey Bowl.

The Turkey Bowl is played mostly by kids I was in band with (from 3 years older to 3 years younger than myself) and we always have a good range of people show up. These are people we had spent hours with on busses and on the practice field; we saw each other everyday and now we get together just once a year. Every year we get together and tell the same jokes and share the same stories and, just for a little while, we're not worrying about our futures, bills, grades or girls; we're just a bunch of friends playing football.

I never cared for Thanksgiving as a child. I mean, no presents, candy or fireworks? What gives?

But since I've moved away from home and grown older (if not too much wiser), I've learned to cherish this day for what it is, a day of thanks.

Benjamin Cox is a junior in music history. He can be reached for comment at benny083002@yahoo.com.