GOUVEIA: Here's what I'm thankful for this year...

Bill Gouveia

Posted: Sunday, November 20, 2016 10:47 pm | Updated: 11:02 pm, Sun Nov 20, 2016.

BY BILL GOUVEIA FOR THE SUN CHRONICLE | 0 comments

As we head towards Thanksgiving this week, I'd like to do something I don't do enough - thank some people for all they do for me and others.

It's a little difficult to concentrate on thankfulness these days, particularly in the aftermath of a vicious, bitter election that only served to remind us all how divided this nation truly is. But perhaps this particular holiday, designed for no purpose other than giving thanks for what we have, can at least temporarily allow us to focus on the positive and ignore the deafening negativity surrounding us.

So in that spirit (with perhaps just a pinch of sarcasm occasionally tossed in), I offer you my 2016 Thanksgiving "thank you" statements and wishes.

First off, thank you to my two sons and their families for gathering all together with us this Thanksgiving Day. I am thankful any time I get my five amazing grandchildren together, especially when it is here at home. And our two boys and their spouses aren't bad either. Family is one of those few things you can never replace.

Thank you to the makers of jellied cranberry sauce. Although I partake at times other than Thanksgiving, Turkey Day is the perfect holiday for me to pig out on this favorite delicacy. But it must be made by Ocean Spray, it must not contain any of those lumpy, whole berries, and it must (this is non-negotiable) be sliced into wafers rather than scooped out with a spoon. Just ask my daughter-in-law MJ what happens when that last part is ignored.

Thank you to the Sun Chronicle for allowing me this space twice a week to express myself and have a conversation with you fine folks. To Editor Mike Kirby and everyone else who keeps us informed and gives us a local forum - I am so proud to be associated with such a robust, independent and community-centered newspaper.

Thank you to my wife Cynthia. Despite battling through a recent knee replacement surgery, she continues to be the center of our family and do the work of 10 people. She survived the last two months of me trying to "help" her, and that alone is an amazing achievement.

My deep thanks to White's Bakery & Cafe in Mansfield for your chicken pot pies. They have kept us fed at least a few times per week over the last many months. And I apologize for that angry glare I display every time I go in and find you sold out of them. My wife thanks you for the carrot cake.

My heartfelt thanks to our dear friends Ellen and Mike Thomas as they desert us and leave Norton for their well-deserved retirement down South. We will miss them with all our hearts and promise to come and visit more often than you want us to. And thank you for making me go on that cruise that was the time of our lives.

Thank you to the New England Patriots. As a season ticketholder for more than four decades, I deeply appreciate the excellence you have provided over the last 15 years. You have proven that I was not crazy sitting on those cold aluminum benches all those other seasons, dreaming that someday it might pay off.

Thank you to Donald Trump. By running a campaign designed to win at all costs, you have pushed voters who couldn't be bothered - on both sides - to suddenly become involved again. I despise almost everything you stand for, and will carefully watch how you perform. But I have to acknowledge you carved out a role for yourself in American history and put new life into politics.

Thank you to red wine for enabling me to type the words "Thank you to Donald Trump."

And thank you so much to the readers of this newspaper and particularly this column. Your notes, your emails, your comments in the grocery store and in restaurants - they mean the world to me. Even the criticisms, which you are not shy about expressing. You keep me grounded and keep me going. It is indeed a privilege to be able to occupy this spot, and I do not take it for granted.

Plus, it's cheaper than a psychiatrist.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. May all your cranberry sauce be jellied.

Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be emailed at aninsidelook@aol.com and followed on Twitter at @BillInsideLook.