Just wanted to wish a happy Thanksgiving to one and all. I realize it is an American holiday, other than Canada. (Correct me if I am wrong, and I'm sure someone will! LOL). Even the Canadians celebrate it earlier, before everything ices over (ducking). But to me there is something universal about this day. If not the date, then the spirit. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday precisely because it is so positive and unassertive, perched exactly on the hinge between the warmth of summer and "good fall" and the chill ahead.

It is, firstmost and inescapably, about being together. With family, with friends, whoever we are lucky enough to be together with. Every Thanksgiving get-together has its ancient rituals. Food is an easy ritual and I think every one of us is familiar with the unique take on how to bake a turkey, a mincemeat pie, or that German potato salad Grandma would rather die than reveal in an actual recipe. (Not my grandma, but I was there). The voices get a little louder and a little more animated. It's really a beautiful holiday. So here are my Thanksgiving wishes to the FoxGang. I realize that's an outdated term but is still the way I think of all of you.

May we be thankful for what we have and unenvious of what we can't have.

May we be thankful for our children, if we have them. There is no greater gift. May we never let them down, at least within the tolerance of human fallibility.

May we be thankful for our parents, living or dead. Especially our mothers. I do not diminish the contribution of fathers. Dads are crucial to child development in some ways but let's face it, it's not the same. We did not carry them in our stomachs for nine months. We did not puke every morning for months on end. We did not willingly become whales on their behalf. We did not go through the pain of passing a bowling ball through a thimble. None of us will ever have more than one mother in this world. If your mother is no longer with you, peace be upon her. If she is still here, please call her tomorrow and say thanks. Mothers can be pissers -- their revenge for the pain, I suspect -- but there is no one like them. No one.

May we be thankful to live in free countries, as I believe everyone here does. It is a gift we should never take for granted.

May we be thankful for the generosity of the human spirit. Hurricane Katrina was at once a shocking, unimaginable tragedy and at the same time an affirmation. We're all in this together.

May we be thankful for our colleagues, however far-flung. As Randy Brown said on his way out, there is nothing quite like the FoxPro community. There isn't. The rest of them are just coders ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Mike