It had been another long week  of work. My feet hurt. My back hurt. My head hurt. Plenty of hours behind a desk. Additional hours in the field. Yet I was still feeling thankful.

I was thankful for my vehicle which brought me home. I was thankful for a house to enter and a recliner to sit in. On this day I was too tired though to even turn on the TV (which I am also thankful for).

So, on this mid-September day with fall-like temperatures arriving,  I am most thankful for:

• The first areas of blue sky which return after an extended rain.

• The time leading up to kickoff at the local high school stadium and then when kickoff arrives.

• Road trips to high school football games with my father many years ago. Often times a friend or two would be along for the ride, making it even more enjoyable.

• For political season and “vote for” candidate signs which seem to be in abundance this year. 

• When I leave the dentist knowing I won’t have to return in a couple of weeks to have more work performed.

• The time when the phone rings and it is not a telemarketer or scam of some kind.

• The bright colors of fall.

• A text from a friend.

• A movie made in 2024 that is not a remake.

• The old VH1 “Behind the Music” series.

• When the power doesn’t go out during a violent thunderstorm and especially when it stays on during a winter storm.

• For the political candidate who remembers at least some of those campaign promises once in office.

• That a few of us still enjoy reading a newspaper the way it should be read: by turning the actual pages.

• The dawn of a new day and the potential that things could be better than the day or days before.

• The pothole in the road once it has been fixed.

• Saturdays in the fall with college football on all day, into the night and even early morning the following day. It’s a great time of year.

• A parent who takes the time to stop you and thank you for a kind word written about their child in the paper. Many times, I’ve learned simply mentioning their name means a lot. 

• Childhood friends who remain friends today although we have long ago left our childhood years behind.

• For the fall of 1988 when I had my first article printed in my hometown paper.

• A good movie that actually provides suspense and a good scare or two. I remember years ago watching Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” with my wife who had never seen it. My wife didn’t know the story line and actually screamed out loud at the end. Now that’s good film making.

•For those of you who have made it this far in this column.

• And finally, I offer thanks for fall now being upon us once again as the summer heat seems to have broken.

Chris Bridges is managing editor of The Walton Tribune. Email comments about this column to chris.bridges@waltontribune.com.