Well for us "Yanks" it's Thanksgiving and as the executive chef of the
house that means getting up @ 4AM to start my 22 pound turkey. The bugger takes
8 hours to cook and 1/2 day prior to prep but man alive is it worth it. Oh yeah, just like that Rockwell painting. The bird is all glossy and mahogany, moist and tender with deep layers of flavor. When the familial horde takes their first bite their eyes roll back with the lids all fluttery … no – thank you!
So here I sit wired and it's not even 6AM yet but it gets me thinking
what I'm thankful for. Well, I will say that I'm not just thankful but
grateful for being born a white guy in North America if not just somewhere in the
developed world. I'm thankful for having a sound mind and fit body. I'm thankful for having the talent and
gumption to create for me what I think is the coolest job in the world.
But mostly I'm thankful for all the people in my life who truly make my
existence a special thing. My wife Angela who, for reasons unknown, puts up with the peculiar thing that is my work life as well as the strangeness that is, uh, "me". My friends and family and all that they bring for all work and no play makes jack, ya know?
My gratitude very much extends to my "other family" – all the people that comprise that huge thing called my work. The editors who at one time took a chance on me and saw something that they wanted to bring to their trusted readers. The subjects who let me take time from their lives so that I could distill something visual from their experience and thus broaden the lives of thousands of others. The Art Directors who paired my cockeyed vision to their clients needs. And a big thanks goes out to the guys who cut my checks – I love ya man!
You all, in one way or the other, have brought so much into my life and I can't thank you enough.