Thanksgiving Abroad: Days following "Over the river and through the woods"

It's 5:00 o'clock PM.
I know this without looking at an actual clock because I have an old cheapie wrist watch apparently given to me by a former co-worker that has an alarm which is set to go off at this time. Well, it's actually set to go off at 18:00, which is 6:00pm on the 24 hour clock, but this watch has not been reset for Daylight Savings Time. The reason the alarm has not been deactivated and the time has not been reset is because the instruction booklet for the watch was not included when this little timepiece was left on my desk following the former co-worker's exit from the company.  (Incidentally, she left of her own accord, a career change choice).
The reason I have a watch that I don't know how to operate? Hey, it was free.  And it's the only one out of four watches I own that the battery hasn't run down and that the wrist band hasn't recently broken.
Okay, so the primary reason is I procrastinate when it comes to buying watch batteries and similar small tasks.
But as I stated, it's five o'clock in the evening on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  And my throat is a little scratchy. Since we are staying with good lifetime friends who don't have the days off leading up to this wonderful holiday to otherwise entertain us, I have had a little idle time to speculate if the source of this esophageal annoyance was from various co-workers (still present at work) who had coughs and sniffles the week prior to my departure, or if the house dust cleaning completed the day before we left town infected me, or if the germs are from my lovely spouse who recently mentioned her own throat related symptoms revealing themselves to her a couple of days before our jaunt across two mid sized states.
After some careful thought, I'm going with a combination of all three. It was a multi-tiered attack.
On a tangent, does anyone else wonder how the advertising staff that wrote and filmed the latest Santa's workshop themed ad for T-Mobile could have missed the fact that the hot pink wigged elves singing the lyrics "something in a 4G wonderland" sounds like "something in an orgy wonderland"? No, I don't have a dirty mind. It just sounded that way the very first time I overheard it playing on the TV and it makes me chuckle now every time it comes on.
I blame the above digression on the nine hour and twenty minute drive. Yes, I've had an entire day to recover from that little trek, but as stated before, we're all somewhat waiting on the holiday to arrive. So the mind wanders aimlessly.

This trip has taught me a few things which I will now share with my readers.  To practice for the upcoming List of All For Which I Am Thankful, I will share these "few things" in classic "list" fashion:
(1) The instrument panel - also commonly known as the dashboard - of the current model Volkswagen Beetle makes a top notch eating tray as you drive down the highway after making a fast food stop.
(2) You will never see deer in the "Deer Crossing" zones that are dutifully advertised by those bright yellow diamond shaped signs.  You will see them, however, running along the entrance ramp to the freeway in a large metropolitan industrial area long after the "zone" warning has expired.
(3) Remember to dress for your destination when you leave your house, particularly if you live in a warmer climate and are driving Northbound. (Now the shorts do come in handy for comfortable clothing to wear around the house. They aren't so good when you have to move your car out of the driveway for someone to leave the house).
(4) Nothing makes you realize just how much too long it has been since you have last visited your friends than their children being able to practically look you level in the eye without standing so much as on tippy-toe. (To do so the last time we were here would have required standing on a chair).
(5) Never forget any of your prescriptions when you travel. I was almost driven to request a new prescription to alleviate stress suffered from trying to arrange for a short 6 day script to be filled at a pharmacy local to where we are staying.

Now that my typing fingers are warmed up, I can proceed on to the personal Thanksgiving List.  This must be done now since the next few days will be spent preparing for The Meal, The Game, The Post Meal Nap, The Biggest (Biggest...biggest) Shopping Day Of The Year (the second two "biggest"s were tractor pull-esque announcement echoes) and The Return Drive.  These items are not in any certain order.

I am thankful...

(1)...for the physical, mental, and financial ability to be able to write this list in this fashion.  This means having my hands and eyes and intact thought processes, the education to utilize them, and the income to afford the tools and the electricity to power said tools.
(2)...for the vehicle that brought us here and the safe journey to get here. Hey, if there is anything I have learned in my line of work, it is that a lot of people do not have comfortable or even reliable transportation to get from A to B.
(3)...for the other person in the aforementioned "us".  That would be my wife.
(4)...for the friends who now host us in their home.
(5)...for the other friends who are also visiting with us.
(6)...for the children of our friends.  They give me real hope for the future of our society, our nation and our planet.
(7)...for the steady employment that provides the income I earn and the health insurance that helps keep me moving.  Without the income....well, I try not to think about that.  Too many people have to live with that these days. Or I guess I should say withOUT that.
(8)...for those who are working in far flung parts of the globe in uniform, away from their families, and who have more to worry about when they drive on the road than whether or not they'll hit a deer. Here's a big "Hooah" to your coming home soon, mission accomplished.
(9)...for the food, of course, that we enjoy; not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every meal we have, regardless of whether we consume it from the dashboard of a Beetle, a shiny restaurant booth or at the family table complete with the additional leaf installed.
(10)...for the past memories we will share, the fellowship we will enjoy, and the new memories we will create with our dearest, longtime friends on this Holiday. And if our friends manage to find the time to read this entry between the soccer games, the homework, the turkey basting and the channel surfing, they will see this heartfelt "thank you" for putting us up and for...

...well, for being our friends.