50+ Lifestyles

November – A Month to Give Thanks

By Eloise Graham

Let us give thanks for the privilege to go to the polls and vote. Many countries are still struggling for this right. We often hear about voting when it is the “Big Election” but voicing our right is just as important in smaller elections. It is the elected officials at the lower levels that regulate a lot of our daily life. Or they may work their way up into other avenues of politics. So… if there are city or county elections in your area on November 7, get out and vote! Be thankful for our ancestors that gave their time, and maybe their all, for us to have this right.

Let us give thanks for the men and women in uniform. Many have given their life for our freedoms that we so often take for granted or think we are entitled to. Be thankful forall that serve and protect us, for the sacrifices they and their families have to make.

Let us say “Thank you” to the Quad City Arts personnel and volunteers that always brighten our November with the Festival of Trees. This is the 32 year for this spectacular event that has something for everyone! Make sure you check out the many displays and activities that this crew has put together for our community.

Let us remember to give thanks for friends and relatives… any one that brings a ray of sunshine into our life. To often, we take for granted those closest to us. Let us remember to thank them.

A few other things we should remember to be thankful for:

The electric bulb. Yes, it has changed over the years. Often we have complained about the changes… But all in all, it is something every one of us uses everyday and we should give thanks for Thomas Edison and his patent on November 1, 1879.

The discovery of the X-Ray. So many health procedures now rely on technology derived from this discovery on November 8, 1895.

The crumbling of the Berlin Wall. On November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall came down after separating the city for 28 years.

The establishment of the U.S. Marine Corps. The Second Continental Congress established the Continental Marines of the Revolutionary War on November 10, 1775. These Marines were the forerunner of our present day U.S. Marine Corps.

The Gettysburg Address. November 19, 1863, President Lincoln gave this address that has come to symbolize the definition of democracy itself.