The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1915-11-19
PASS ON THE JOY
OF THANKSGIVING
Making Others Glad Should
Be Considered One of the
Chief Duties of the
Season.

It's the easiest thing in the world
to look for trouble and to find it
waiting, grim and terrible, for your
search. 1t isn't very hard to count
your blessings in a negative sort of
way, by saying, Eyes, it's very nice,
but it could be much nicer" It's
quite the usual thing to hear folk
complainant complaining is heard
more often than praise and thankful
ness. Yet-so they tell us-a little
over three hundred years ago band
of sturdy, venturesome Christian folk
were very thankful indeed and prais-
ed their Lord fervently over hand
full of parched corn and bit Of I'M
leavened bread.
Once a year we set apart day,
consecrated to their memory, and try
to throw aside the custom and COM
plainings of the world as we know IT.
We gather together-families of us
and eat turkey and plum pudding; we
talk of commonplaces and sometimes
we feel bored and tired. Yet we are
supposed to be celebrating.
We have bushels of things to be
glad for this year--hundreds; it seems
more than we ever had. AS we offer
up our blessings is won't be hard to
remember that across a dividing bit
of ocean other people are starving TO
death. and that ought to make us just
a bit more thankful. AS we see our
families sitting around talking com,
monplaces it may help us to think OF
other families in other countries thai
are fighting and dying on blood-staln-
ed battlefelds. AS we hear the crisp
November wind banging in the trees,
we ought to be mighty thankful that
it isn't the sound of cannon and bu-
giles and screams that we're hearing.
Oh, friends of mine, it won't be very
hard TO be thankful this year!
As was walking down Fourth ave
nue. a few days ago | was thinking,
with my head in the clouds, of MANY
things; thinking so hard that | did
not notice exactly where my feet were
taking me. 1t was only when | Stun
bled against little boy who was run
ming around a corner that | came
down to earth with bump.
ooh! I'm so sorry | said. did l
hurt you?" 1890
Oats a right lady," said the little
boy with dirty Raphael-cherub grin.
81 was only running"
"Oh."-he was lingering at my side,
so l felt it necessary to make CONVEX
sation-"you were running-playing
something"
HUH" the little boy grunted beat
ifcally as he pulled up one ragged
stocking. ooh, no; l was jus run
ming fer fun"
His little face crinkled with smiles
again and he trotted on out of my
sight.
Just running for fun, for the pure
ioy of living. A little boy with moth
ing else to make him happy-and yet
a number of US frown and fret in the
midst of all sorts of pleasures.
was talking to a chum of mine not
long ago, and some way our conversa-
ton drifted around to Thanksgiving
time, and our Interpretation of the
day.
ats all wrongw said my chum
earnestly, "all wrong"
why" l asked curiously. I'm al
ways thankful for my blessings on
Thanksgiving; so are most people.
Why is it all wrong?"
"Well," answered my chum, "on
Thanksgiving day we sit around and
talk and alphabetically. l once
asked a little girl what Thanksgiving
day meant, and she said turkey and
cranberry saucen And then we thank
God complacently for our harvests,
and our food, and our clothes, and his
love. Isn't it 500"
Eyes" | admitted.
well" continued the girl, "the Pill
grims did that, too, years ago. But
they did not stop there, After they
thanked God for their own blessings
they tried to pass on the JOY to folk
less fortunate than they We're. They
even invited the Indians, beings that
they had every reason to be afraid Of,
into their homes and gave them a
little of the seasons cheer. They kept
Thanksgiving
"Then"-I was choosing my words
rather carefully-"then your idea is
rot to be thankful yourself-only to