We have a lot to be thankful for

“Barreling” down Main Street early this Monday morning (Nov. 9) the headline above is the phrase displayed on the wonderful Rotary sign at the corner of Fourth and Main Streets. That is close if not the exact words. Yes, we do. Yes, we do.

Regardless of how the election turned out for you on the national, state or even local level, can we all agree that we live in the greatest nation on earth where we have the right to cast our ballot – in peace – for the candidate of our choosing. It is a bit alarming to hear about storefronts that were boarded up for election night in major cities around the country. Last I checked, no one in Coshocton had to board up their windows. Let’s be thankful for where we live.

Sure, there are things that we don’t have – like an ocean to frolic in or mountains to ski down. I get that. You can drive to those things and return to our safe locale in the heartland. But we also don’t have to worry about hurricanes, avalanches and I am pretty confident on this one, wildfires.

Our biggest challenge in the fall would seem to be the dust in the air from corn and soybean harvesting. And we can deal with that. Right now, we are enjoying a spate of beautiful weather in November that we have not experienced for several years – if memory serves. And it may not. Age you know. And the forecast is calling for nice weather all this week although by the time you receive this week’s Beacon, we are dipping into the 50s and 60s. Tuesday of this week may have been our swan song with temps in the high 70s.

The Buckeyes are still solid in the number three spot with Clemson and Notre Dame swapping positions in the AP football poll. For those that stayed up to watch the double overtime thriller, (I did not) you saw a great one! I did notice that LeBron James tweeted this – “So, it’s okay to not have fans but it is okay to storm the field?” Interesting to ponder that isn’t it?

The U.S. Government has pulled out all the stops to develop an effective vaccine for COVID-19 and the military’s expertise in logistics will be used to make sure that every American has access to the vaccine. The two companies that are heading the charge are Pfizer and BioNTech. Pfizer CEO Albert Boula came out this week stating that their company was not part of “Operation Warp Speed,” “I wanted to liberate our scientists from any bureaucracy. When you get money from someone . . . that always comes with strings.” Some quick Google searches will bring up more information and detail if you are so inclined. This effort started earlier this year. Obviously developing an effective vaccine is not something you accomplish in a month or two.

In the NFL the Steelers are still undefeated while the Saints handed Tom Brady and the Buccaneers a lopsided loss at home on Sunday night. The Browns are following league COVID-19 protocols for quarterback Baker Mayfield. I knew that he should not have went out to get groceries. I didn’t see a mask but who knows?

Ridgewood Generals, we are all proud of you. The Generals deserve to be very proud of their football season – not only for a tremendous accomplishment during the playoffs but also in holding Ironton to a playoff low 17 points and scoring seven themselves in a loss Saturday night in Ironton. It was another season of great memories for the Ridgewood players, coaches, fans and community.

Category: Mark's Musings, Opinion