I awoke this morning with a vision of warm turkey, dressing and gravy for breakfast.

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and why not start the day with some turkey-day leftovers? Then, we can have turkey sandwiches for lunch. And for the evening dinner, we can chow down on leftover mashed potatoes, gravy, green-bean casserole and – yeah, you know what's next – more delicious turkey.

This weekend, Anne can make her mouthwatering turkey tetrazzini. After that, I can make my turkey pie or maybe turkey soup. We'll be gobbling turkey for several days, I can assure you.

Maybe then I can attack my latest diet-and-exercise program. However, I won't earnestly begin until that refrigerator in our kitchen is empty of all the Thanksgiving goodness.

That reminds me of all the newspaper and magazine articles that always appear before Thanksgiving, telling us what not to eat on the bountiful turkey-day table. I'm sure you've seen them – "How to avoid the big calories this Thanksgiving," for example.

Are they serious? Are you kidding me? Any editor who allows such pap on his or her news and feature pages should be thumped upside the head! We are supposed to pig out on Thanksgiving! It's not only our right; it's a traditional obligation!

Imagine this conversation:

"Remember how trim and fit Howard was on Wednesday?"

"Sure. He works out and watches what the eats all the time."

"Well, yesterday, that boy made a glutton of himself during the Thanksgiving meal, and now, the very next day, he looks like a 300-pound slob."

See what I mean? We should not avoid any of those delicious, delectable, savory dishes on Thanksgiving, because we can hit the gym the next day or jog a few miles or finish raking, mulching and bagging the autumn leaves in our yard. One episode of pigging out during a long-established, time-honored, all-American, family banquet – followed throughout that wonderful day with leftover bird and plenty of pie – will wreck neither your health nor your waistline.

So, I hope you ignored those stupid articles and your prissy cousin who works out at
24-Hour Fitness in her expensive exercise outfits. I hope you chowed down heartily yesterday, with great enthusiasm, relishing the flavors, textures and goodness of all
that holiday food. I hope you later ate a sloppy sandwich of turkey, dressing and cranberry sauce and washed it down with a couple of brews – and not any of those sissy light beers – as you watched the Ravens come back to beat the Steelers, all the while grazing on those yummy football-game snacks placed out on the coffee table.

Remember what we've discussed here for next Thanksgiving, when we will eat, drink and be thankful with guilt-free gusto. I'll remind you in about 363 days.

Now, it's time for some more leftovers. Got my eye on a wing. I love those wings.

Tomorrow is one of my favorite days – Thanksgiving.

I'm giving thanks already today for my computer, because it was in the shop for a week and a half, and I just got it back. It went down when we were under tornado watch, so I'm also thankful that those deadly Illinois tornadoes missed us, and only the computer took a hit here. Anyway, it's fixed, and now I can post what I shall be thankful for come tomorrow.

First, I'll be thankful for all the good food. I am without a doubt a chowhound. I love to chow down, and our dining table will be graced with all of the incredible edibles we look forward to on the fourth Thursday of November each year.

The turkey will be prepped and popped into the oven when I awake and arise tomorrow morning. It will slowly roast to golden perfection, while I envision how delicious the exquisitely delectable skin will taste with the dark meat – and with some white meat,
too – as all of that turkey goodness mingles and dances together on my taste buds, sending me into a state of delightful pleasure. 

With the addition of mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry-blueberry sauce,
green-bean casserole, buttery rolls, Norwegian lingonberries and other goodies, I will be in chowhound heaven and, oh, so thankful.

I will be thankful that my mother is sitting at our wonderful Thanksgiving table. It will be her 95th annual turkey day. That's a lot of turkeys. That's a lot of years. I'm greatly thankful for her.

I will be thankful, too, that so many of my family are still around to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Sadly, there will be two fewer this year, but I know they will be present in spirit at the homes and tables of my nieces, Jackie and Jennifer. Happy Thanksgiving, Stan and Gerry!

As during all of my Thanksgivings, I will be thankful for the memories of Thanksgivings past and relatives who have passed on. My best memory is of a sunny Thanksgiving Day at my grandparents' farm, just north of my Illinois hometown, when I was about 10. All of my aunts, uncles and cousins were there and, of course, my parents and two brothers. It was a beautiful day on the farm.

That day, the men went duck hunting early in the morning, and I vividly remember them returning from the hunt and then plucking, cleaning and dressing out those colorful birds. Imagine a Thanksgiving table that featured a big turkey and ducks – two of my favorite edibles! I sat at one of the kid tables and devoured savory bird and all the trimmings, including that mucky, lumpy, fluffy, Jello salad somebody always made.

I also will be thankful this year that I'm not in some far-flung corner of the globe, getting shot at. I'll be thankful I don't have to worry about hitting a roadside bomb when I drive down the streets hereabouts. I will be very, very thankful that we have brave Americans who expose themselves to such dangers afar in the interest of our safety and freedoms here. Most of all, I will pray for their safe return and hope they will get some kind of Thanksgiving dinner and togetherness during this Thanksgiving away from their families.

Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you are tomorrow.

The trees in Lebanon, Ill., are shedding their fall foliage, and our yard is becoming a patchwork of earthy hues – yellow, brown and rusty red. 

It's time to rake and mulch autumn leaves. That sounds like work, but I'll think of it as healthful, joyful exercise in our crisp, chilly, November air.

This autumn has been a difficult one, because I have lost several loved ones since the fall season arrived. They were not unlike beautiful leaves that have fallen from my tree of life. Just like leaves, they breathed fresh air into my life and gave me comfort and added color to my world. And now they are gone, but life must go on.

Gone now are my brother, Stan; my sister-in-law, Gerry; and my dear friend, Gus. 

My brother was eight years older than I, so when we were growing up, he was my great protector. Any bully who picked on me would have to answer to my big bro. Stan always called me Thomas Earl. Nobody else has ever called me that. I'm sure going to miss it.

Gerry, Stan's wife, was a jolly lady with a big smile and distinctive laugh. She brought joy into many lives. I wrote about her in my blog, several blogs ago. Read "Godspeed, Gerry," and you will understand the joy of which I speak.

Gus Villanueva was the Navy medical corpsman in my Marine Corps reconnaissance team in the Vietnam War. He took me under his wing when I arrived in the Nam, patched me up when I was wounded, and he remained my close friend for life. Even though he has passed on from this life, he will remain my good buddy forever.

I will think about these lovely people while I'm working in the yard this week. I know they will give me some oomph in my step, an effortless sweep to my rake, and pleasant memories to keep my brain from burning out during all the leaf gathering.

The next thing you know, it will be Thanksgiving. I shall give thanks that Stan, Gerry and Gus colored my life so beautifully.