Free Republic

I came across this lovely uplifting video when I was feeling particularly grateful. Those who need a smile right now might enjoy it too. :)

After 60 years together a couple wanted to celebrate; Their three kids, all successful, agreed to a Sunday dinner in their honor. "Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad," gushed Son No. 1. 'Sorry I'm running late. I had an emergency at the hospital with a patient, you know how it is, and I didn't have time to get you a gift." "Not to worry," said the father. "Important thing is we're all together today." Son No. 2 arrived. "You and Mom look great. Dad, I just flew in from Montreal between depositions and didn't have time to shop for you." “It’s...

Thanksgiving began in 1621 when the Pilgrims invited the Wampanoag Indians to join them in celebration of the fall harvest. The Pilgrims had fled religious persecution in England a year earlier and had lost many of their group during the travels overseas and subsequent harsh winter. After harvest, they paused to thank God. The Indians traveled for several days to join them, created their own camp and stayed for three days of feasting and celebration. The holiday received official status in 1789, with George Washington's first presidential proclamation, which designated the 26th day of November next to be set aside...

CHICAGO -- When he first came to this city 14 years ago from his home, located 20 miles outside of Sofia, Bulgaria, he only knew two words in the English language: "Pepsi" and "pizza." "I came here because my best friend said, 'In America, no matter who you are, you can make something of yourself and make something good for your family if you just work hard,'" he says with a rich mixture of his native tongue and near-perfect English. "So, I did." Along with him came his wife and his 5-year-old son. They immediately settled in the northwest suburbs...

<p>This is a well-written article about a father who put several of his kids through expensive colleges but one son wanted to be a Marine. Interesting observation by this dad. See below. A very interesting commentary that says a lot about our failing and fallen society.</p>

My shed is like a lot of other sheds. ItÂ’s an old shed, flirting with almost 25 years now. ThereÂ’s some rust in parts, it has some dents, but so do I. ThereÂ’s tools galore that assisted in building, fixing, destroying and defending our tiny corner of the world. TheyÂ’re proud of a job well done. Strewn are pieces of memories that beg for momentum to be remembered. Raising their hand to answer the question of glory past. In the corner is a shovel splintered with half the handle cut off. The narrowing part that comes to form a rounded...

Lots of handshakes and fist bumps but lets not forget...

I have never posted a thread so this may not work....

Bob Hope... It's Priceless Here's a history lesson for today Alan Alda first saw Bob Hope in WWII. Until the day he died his Dad never ever missed a Bob Hope special. Alan remembered him laughing and crying at every show but he never understood why. Now he knows. A little travel back in time. Warning. This might make your eyes wet! Those were the days , jokes were funny, not disgusting.. . and the girls were dressed to make them look pretty, not vulgar... This is some priceless footage. This is a great e-mail. It makes me thankful that...

Ten Thousand Thanks Could Never Be Enough - A Meditation on the Astonishing Depth of Every Gift Msgr. Charles Pope • July 26, 2016 • In developing gratitude, we do well to remember how intertwined our lives are. None of us lives in isolation—none of us can. We may think we’re pretty self-sufficient, but we drive on roads that others built and paid for, and we do so in cars developed and built by others. We use electricity powered by coal that others mined, converted to power in power plants we neither built nor run, and delivered to us...

"Video: Donald Trump Calls to Thank Cleveland Police Chief and Officers for Keeping RNC Convention Safe" Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump called Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams on Friday to thank him for keeping the Republican National Convention held this week in Cleveland safe. The call came as Williams was attending a media availability with bike patrol officers outside the Quicken Loans Arena where the convention was held. Williams put Trump on speaker so he could speak to the approximately fifty officers. The officers can be seen in video tightly surrounding the chief to hear Trump speak. Afterward, many of...

22 years ago I arrived in the US with nothing but dreams. Today, I'll be in a Super Bowl commercial. Thank you for everything, America! Thank YOU for being there with me. #SB50 #onlyinamerica On a more sad note, I reported on Twitter yesterday that former NASA astronaut Edgar Mitchell passed away. Thank you for coming forward. Thank you for speaking. Enjoy the next level. Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday!

The Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero insisted that gratitude was "the parent of all the other virtues." Cicero did not define gratitude as Mafia-like loyalty or mutual back-scratching. He was not referring to a pop socialism where all supposedly owe their successes to the government. Instead, gratitude is proof of humility and offers perspective. It is an appreciation for others, often now dead, who have helped to make us what we are. Without it, we are narcissists and self-absorbed amnesiacs. Unfortunately, our modern "me" generation has forgotten gratitude and replaced it with the art of victimization. Contemporary Americans prefer blaming...

Some Thoughts to Help Deepen Gratitude Msgr. Charles Pope • November 25, 2015 • True gratitude is a grace, or gift, from God. It proceeds from a humble and transformed heart. In such a case we do not render thanks merely because it is polite or expected, or because God commands it, but because it naturally flows from a profound experience of gratitude. The “command” of Scripture to give thanks is not a moralism, but a truth and a description of what flows from a transformed heart.Thus, an anointing to seek from God is the powerful transformation of our intellect...

New Weekly Gratitude Thread. Please notify me if you want to be on the ping list.

Evan Sayet recently gave his view that income inequality is irrelevant because other people’s success doesn’t come at the expense of our own. In a humorous and memorable way, Sayet dissects why he wants everyone to be as successful as possible:

God and God Alone: A Homily for the 29th Sunday of the Year By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe Gospel today contains lots of interesting juxtapositions: hatred for Jesus but grudging respect for him,  real questions versus rhetorical ones, politics and faith, duties to Caesar and duties to God. The word  “juxtaposition” is from the Latin juxta (meaning “near”) and positio (meaning “place or position”). Hence juxtaposition is the placing of two things near to each other in order to see how they are similar and yet different.  In English, usually a juxtaposition emphasizes differences more than similarities.Let’s look at these one...

California-school mind control: grades for “Gratitude” By Jon Rappoport January 30, 2015 http://www.nomorefakenews.com The Sacramento Bee has the story. 1/27/15, “Grit and gratitude join reading, writing and arithmetic on report cards,” by Loretta Kalb: “Across the state, report cards are undergoing a sea change in how students are measured for academic performance. Where teachers once graded students [only] on traditional math or English skills, they now judge attributes such as grit, gratitude or being sensitive to others…Districts are changing their report cards to reflect the new Common Core State Standards…” “…when it comes to attributes such as grit or being...

God Bless America by Irving Berlin While the storm clouds gather far across the sea, Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free. Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer. God bless America, Land that I love, Stand beside her and guide her Through the night with a light from above; From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans white with foam, God bless America, My home, sweet home; God bless America, My home, sweet home.

If Thomas Jefferson could be faulted for one thing in composing the Declaration of Independence, it might be his inclusion of the words "the pursuit of happiness" in the text. Happiness is a vapor that cannot be grasped; a temporary feeling based on transitory circumstances akin to the euphoria of a full-on sugar rush. Happiness is good for a time, but it cannot last. Life invariably intervenes. So many seem so unthankful about so much these days. Turn on the TV or read a newspaper and you will find complainers. Democrats complain about Republicans and the reverse. The poor complain...