Perspective from the 19^th Hole 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 to 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 my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as 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.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

One of my thoughts on a day such as this – or it would be true, as well, tomorrow on Thanksgiving Day – is that being thankful should not be limited to one day.

We have much to be thankful for every day.

So, today, I list several of my main reasons for being thankful – and the list appears in no particular order of priority:

For God Who Calls Me One of His Children:  My faith sustains me every day and I am thankful that “my heavenly father” – and I use that phrase intentionally because it calls to mind my great relationship with my earthly father whom I remember fondly and lovingly every day – counts me as one of “His children” without me having to earn that status.

For My Family:  Family means a lot to me.  I also know many people are not able to point with fondness and love to their family.  First, growing up with four siblings and a Mother and Father who loved me gave me a great start on life.

Then, I lucked out and married Nancy and, together, we produced two great children, Eric and Lissy, and then three grandchildren came along.

All of them – either in person or in spirt – will join us tomorrow for a Thanksgiving feast…for which I also am thankful that we have enough wherewithal to gather together.

Great to be part of a family!

For Friends:  Many of my friends (no names here, just a reference to “many”) these days play the game all of us love, golf, no matter how we manage to play or score on a given day.

“Real golf “is supposed to be like this, according to information in the 25^th anniversary of my favorite golf book of all time, “A Season in Dornoch,” an ode to folks and golf in the far north of Scotland written by one of the best golf writers around, Lorne Rubenstein.

I cannot but help but refer to this book because I am thankful for it – today and on other days.  Here are a couple quotes from the book just for a reminder about what golf is really about instead of the commercialism which dominates golf news these days:

“Even as they were coming to grips with the region’s history of turmoil, Rubenstein and his wife, Nell, (who accompanied him on his four-month sojourn in Dornoch, a small town in the far north of Scotland where Rubenstein found enough fodder this this produced) found themselves succumbing to the charms that have drawn so many to Dornoch. 

“They slowed down, let go of the urgency that drove life back in Toronto, and took time to savor the beauty of the landscape all around them; from the hills resplendent in purple heather to the golden sands of Dornoch beach.

“More and more often, Rubenstein found himself doing the things that made him love golf in the first place.  Playing alone at sunrise or sunset.  Playing by feel and sight, rather than by yardages.  Playing the ball on the ground, rather than through the air.  Playing beside the sea, in rain or wind, often with a half set.” 

And, Rubenstein often played without keeping score – just to love the game.

To get back to the point of this blog, my sense of thankfulness for the game I love draws me to many friends where I live in Salem, Oregon, and where I have the good fortune to live and play in the winter, La Quinta, California.

So, today and every day, be thankful for all things!