We here at Knuckleballs hope that all of our readers (and everyone else, I suppose) have a terrific Thanksgiving!

I’m feeling thankful today for a lot of things. My family is enjoying relatively good health and those of us who wish to be employed are so. That may not seem like much, but we realize it is a blessing not everyone shares today. So I give thanks.

Above and beyond a healthy family that, for reasons not always readily understandable, seems to love me despite my many faults, I’m also thankful for many other things.

I’m thankful for our men and women in uniform (and their families) whose sacrifices make possible most of the blessings we all enjoy.

Despite the irritating political ads that those of us in “battleground states” endured for most of the past year, I’m thankful to live in a country where we get to choose whether to retain or overthrow our government every couple of years without shedding a single drop of blood in the process.

And I’m thankful for my fellow Knuckleballs writers, Babs, KL and Eric. I’m not sure it would even be possible to maintain this blog without them, but I’m absolutely positive it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun to do as it is with them. Of course, it’s the readers, especially those who take the time to share your own thoughts with us in the comments section and/or join us for GameChats during the season, that make the blogging fun and worthwhile, so I’m thankful for all of you, too.

Finally, I’m thankful that my father passed along to me his great love for the sport of baseball and I’m thankful for those who make being a baseball fan… and specifically a fan of the Twins and Kernels… such an enjoyable and entertaining endeavor. I may not always agree with how teams are run or strategies are applied on the field and there are certainly times I’d like the players to perform a bit better, but I don’t doubt for a moment that everyone concerned are good, hard working people who apply enormous amounts of dedication toward their respective jobs… all so you and I can enjoy baseball more.

I hope all of them and all of you have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving holiday!

- JC