PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as a Congressional press secretary in Washington, D.C., an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

As we reflect on just having come through another Thanksgiving Day, I hope that every day would be a day for giving thanks.

Tough aspiration, especially given the difficult conditions many citizens face these days, not to mention various plights in our country.

But, from a simple perspective, I have two thoughts to help make every day special.

1. Say thanks to someone every day

I learned this from one my mentors in state government, Fred Miller, then director of the Executive Department. He practiced the art of expressing personal appreciation to someone every day for work they had done from which he benefitted.

It was a good practice, one I have tried to mimic. If you think about it, there are lots of people you could thank because they helped you achieve an objective, or just expressed words of appreciation and hope to you in every day life.

2. Do something nice for someone every day

In addition to expressing thanks, a second act would be for you to do something nice for someone every day. There are a lot of simple tasks that would boost someone’s day.

Just two simple tasks. Neither requires much deep thought or time-consuming action. But both can be important statements for how you live your d