Today in the US it’s Thanksgiving, where Americans gather around tables groaning under turkeys the size of footstools and serve what appear to be marshmallow-laden deserts as salads.
It is the biggest family holiday in the US and the idea of being thankful for being an American certainly has a great appeal that admittedly might be a little lost on the nation’s original Indians.
Our national day isn’t for a couple of months but I thought it apt to list ten things I am thankful for about being an Australian and living Australia.
1. I’m thankful that when I turn on the news at night it is to hear who won the day’s cricket or footy, not which faction won the day’s street fighting.
2. I’m thankful for the feeling of water from a free shower trickling the sand out of my hair as I gaze out over the beach I just swam or had a bodysurf at.
3. I’m thankful that for much of the country a harsh winter means wearing long socks with shorts.
4. I’m thankful that when I expressed amazement at the price of an ice cream at the cinema the guy behind counter said: “Yeah, it is rip-off.”
5. I’m thankful that much of the world switches to English when I am around but generally don’t see me as a representative of an imperial bully, except for New Zealanders.
6. I’m thankful that quite a number of people can own larges patches of vegetation around their houses but more thankful, especially on mower-free Saturdays, that I don’t.
7. I’m thankful when the seductive tones of the SBS announcer tell me that the following program contains sex scenes and nudity.
8. I’m thankful that the winners and runners-up of singing popularity contest Australian Idol include a mix of people from diverse backgrounds such as Aboriginal, Asian, Maori, Irish, Italian and Bogan. How is Shannon Noll doing nowadays?
9. I’m thankful that Big Brother finished here before it did in the UK and other countries.
10. I’m thankful that Big Brother once outrated Parliamentary Question Time when every housemate was asleep. For the reason why I am thankful for this see reason one.
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