READERS RESPOND -- ‘Tis a time to be thankful

Thanksgiving is very special to me this year because it falls on our

21st wedding anniversary. My husband, George, becomes more precious to me

with each passing year.

HELEN KANELAS

Newport Beach

My wife, Suzanne, and I are thankful to God for all his blessings. He

has given us two sons within two years and supportive family and friends

who make life fun. We are thankful for our neighborhood and all those who

live in it.

We also feel fortunate to live in a vibrant area of the world and

under a system of government where change is possible when citizens

react, not through violence, but by speaking out and, more importantly,

through the ballot box.

JOEL FARIS

Costa Mesa

I am most thankful this Thanksgiving for my family, dear friends, my

faith community, the gift of music, the opportunity to live in proximity

to the Pacific Ocean and the list goes on. I am most grateful for my

children’s teachers at Newport Heights Elementary and Ensign Intermediate

schools who give so much of themselves and care about each child.

DIANA LANDIS

Newport Beach

Amid all the distressing events since September, I am thankful that:

I am able to send my daughter to college;

My 89-year-old mother is in good health and still able to live

independently;

I can go to a job every day that gives me satisfaction and pleasure;

I can still travel freely about our great country;

I can enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends.

VONNA HAMMERSCHMITT

Newport Beach

I’m thankful for my mom and all my loved ones, especially my daughter,

Natalee, who, in her spirited ways, keeps me young. I’m also thankful for

poetry because, in these troubled times, the power of the word binds us

together.

LEE MALLORY

Newport Beach

I am thankful for the renewed health of my family and friends and for

the wonderful memories of those no longer here. I am thankful for this

country, the continued freedom and democracy it provides me, and for the

valiant men and women fighting so hard to protect it. I am thankful for

time, because I know this is the only thing that will eventually mend

this nation’s broken heart.

I am thankful for all the opportunities in my life and for all the

amazing people I have met along the way. But most of all, I am thankful

for my wife and the new life we have created together that continues to

grow inside her. Happy Thanksgiving!

ETHAN N. GOLDSTEIN

Newport Coast

This Thanksgiving is truly special for me and my family because for

the last two years, my wife has been undergoing various treatments and

therapies for metastasized melanoma. She is now cancer-free (“no evidence

of disease” in cancer speak).

The list of persons and entities to whom we are eternally grateful for

all of their love, support, help, knowledge and wonderful medical and

emotional care (in no order) includes, but is not limited to, Hoag

Hospital, Hoag Cancer Center and the entire staff of dedicated

volunteers, technologists and staff (Drs. Louis VanderMolen, Jay Tassin,

Christopher Duma, Robert Dillman, Michael Brant-Zawadski, Joel Lipman,

Douglas Cassel, Elliot Mercer, Miles Chang, Richard Takata, Douglas

Zussman, Kathleen Laughlin and Ronald Barkey); Cancer Support Group

leaders Catherine Bailey and Sandy Finestone and other cancer patients

who underwent treatment during this time and who still fight on; Rabbi

Mark Miller, Cantor Jonathan Grant and the whole congregation of friends

at Temple Bat Yahm who are too legion to name; all of our co-workers at

Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP and Fluor Corp.; and our friends and

family all over the United States who prayed for us and who supported us

through the roller-coaster ride of battling cancer. We could not have

done it without you!

I am also thankful for hope, for without hope, no one can survive

these kinds of life crises.

Happy Thanksgiving!

RICHARD H. BRUCK

Corona del Mar

I have much to be thankful for: my family, our president, all of our

health. But the main thing that I’m calling about today is that our

7-year-old granddaughter has share day at school every Wednesday. She

called us and said, “Mommy and Papa, I would like to take you to school

and share you with my class.” I thought that was the most wonderful

compliment in the world. They usually take a toy or something, and she

chose to share us. I am very blessed to have a little granddaughter like

that. I just thought that was something to share because it was very

unusual. So, we will go to school, and we will stand in front of the

class, and she will talk about us. That is a reward that I’ll never

forget.

BARBARA HELLER

Costa Mesa