LESS IS MORE!

As the holiday season approaches, I'm overcome with a mixture of joy and sadness, as well as memories of Thanksgiving days spent with family and friends.  My mother, in particular, spent many hours getting ready for our wonderful feast.  My dad was eager to help in whatever way he could, especially when it involved carving the turkey.  He took special delight in that.  And like many American homes, when the meal was over, all eyes turned to the television to watch the Packers-Lions football game.  No matter how good the Packers were in any given year, the Detroit Lions always seemed to give them grief.  Just once I would have loved to have seen the game played in Green Bay!  I probably won't be watching football on Thanksgiving this year, but I'll certainly be remembering the roar of the crowd in years past, and my mother Millie's reward for getting up in the middle of the night to start preparing the turkey.  She loved football, and nothing could stop her from watching the Packers, not even a Thanksgiving get-together.

As I sat by Medicine Lake recently--one of my favorite places in the Twin Cities--I thought of my parents and their appreciation of the simple things in life.  I'm grateful for their humble beginnings and how they taught me to value people and places, rather than "things."  They exemplified the thought expressed by the wonderful poet of the nineteenth century, Robert Browning, who said, quite simply, "Less is more."  Indeed it is!  And when it comes to observing natural beauty, nothing thrills me more. That is my REAL life!  Ann Landers, the former American advice columnist once said, "You can't have everything.  Where would you put it?" I don't have a clue, and this year, more than ever, I cherish simplicity, and the joy in nature's surroundings. As the German philosopher Nietzsche once said, "Our greatest experiences are our quietest moments."