Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012 ... and I’m thankful for: * * * WHITE SOCKS ... wore ’em as a kid, lost ’em in marriage, got ’em back ... the blonde has given up ... keeps the toes toasty on cold wintry nights.

— GEICO commercials on the tube ... funny most times ... my favorite is the happy witch in the broom factory ... not thankful for “my dirty PC” ... that one can ruin a turkey dinner.

— Small towns ... two of my favorites are Mentone, atop Lookout Mountain (in Alabama), and Bell Buckle, Tenn., home of the Moon Pie Festival in early June ... 20,000 people show up for that one

* * * INTERSTATES when I’m in a hurry (Thank you President Eisenhower) and curvy country two-lanes when I’m not, especially in gentle autumn when the leaves are changing ... I am not thankful for the day I have to get out there and rake the leaves ... you could say it’s “laying-by” time for yards everywhere.

— Mountain streams tumbling over rocks down a steep mountainside ... every now and then I stop at the one on Bain’s Gap road and just sit and listen for a few minutes ... makes me feel better.

— The sweet smell of a summer rain moving across a freshly-plowed field ... been there, done that ... but I have absolutely no desire to go back there and hang onto a turning plow being pulled by a nasty-tempered little mare mule ... no sir.

* * * THE PIANO that is Helen Henley and the voice that is Sandra Triplett ... those two are the “music” at Blue Mountain Baptist ... I know I say that every Thanksgiving, hope I can do so again next.

— Nice young people such as Brandon Dickson ... you may not know him, but I do ... he’s been helping me out a bit over the past three months and the “kid” is a class act ... truth is, there are tons out there just like Brandon, we just don’t hear about them.

— Puffy white clouds moving across a blue sky ... the kind that entertains a young boy with all sorts of pictures.

— Good humor and laughter ... it really is a wonderful life and should be enjoyed.

* * * COLLEGE FOOTBALL ... Slippery Rock to Arkansas State, Alabama to Southern Cal, doesn’t matter ... there are new faces every year, young kids learning to “man up,” and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that ... the same tired old faces in pro ball are boring.

— Sports heroes such as Richard Petty, Jack Nicklaus, and Peyton Manning ... classy acts and there are some others, but those three are the leaders in my book of nice guys who did finish first.

— Sausage ’n egg biscuits ... makes for a one-handed breakfast ... the best two are Jack’s and McDonald’s.

* * * BOOKS ... I love reading and every time I pick up a book I’m thankful for a long-ago Aunt Marie who introduced me to reading when I was 4 and she was 16 ... I suspect I’ve told you that before ... but not today.

— Craig Duncan and “Sunday in The Smoky Mountains” ... it is my favorite CD, music is led by hammered dulcimer and there’s no singing ... my favorite on the CD is Because He Lives.

— The greatest family anywhere ... I did a heck of a job in picking the Queen Bee (I thank her for letting me think I did the picking), a great son who brought in an equally great (beautiful, too) daughter-in-law, and three grandsons whose voices sing when they say “Poppa, we here.”

— The presence of God and His Son.

— A simple word such as “thankful” ...

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George Smith can be reached at 256-239-5286 or email: gsmith731@gmail.com