RON DAVIS -- Through my eyes

Ron Davis

What a difference a year makes.

In late August of last year, my stepfather was diagnosed with lung

cancer. The period from diagnosis through Thanksgiving was consumed with

trip after trip to visit Bill and my mother at their home in Rancho

Mirage.

Last September and October Bill underwent chemotherapy. Whether Bill’s

decline, following the diagnosis, was the result of an understandable

psychological meltdown, or the effects of the chemo, or the tumor in his

chest, is uncertain, but by Thanksgiving, Bill was in bad shape. Despite

the fact that he was pretty much bedridden and dependent on oxygen, Bill

looked forward to the traditional Thanksgiving family celebration.

Everyone was invited. And, everyone came. During the day, while the

turkey roasted in the oven, we spent time visiting with Bill. We all

knew, Bill included, that this would be Bill’s last Thanksgiving, and our

last Thanksgiving with Bill.

The day was a special Thanksgiving Day, not because we sat around

wringing our hands and feeling sorry for ourselves, but because we were

spending time with someone important and loved by all of us. While we all

laughed and cried, we were a very thankful lot.

I can’t remember a more memorable Thanksgiving.

For a couple of months following Thanksgiving, Bill’s health improved.

But, in February the cancer counterattacked and on a quiet Friday evening

last March, Bill passed away.

On Sept. 11, 2001, thousands of families kissed and hugged their loved

ones “good bye,” with the expectation that they’d be home later that day.

So too did the families and friends of those who died in the recent plane

crash in Queens. The lives of those left behind will never be the same.

Not only because of the loss of their loved ones, but because they never

got to say “goodbye” -- they never got to spend that final Thanksgiving

day knowing it would be the last they’d spend together.

This year, the time spent on a packed freeway to visit family members

will be different. I’ll probably still grouse about the traffic, but I’ll

be thinking of Bill and our last Thanksgiving together. But Bill won’t be

the only subject of my thoughts. I’ll also think about those who lost

loved ones on and after Sept. 11. I’ll also think about those people in

far away corners of the world whose life is filled with war and poverty.

I’ll think about those around the globe whose world is a world of

repression and where justice and liberty for all is merely a myth.

We have much to be thankful, both personally and as Americans. It is

unfortunate that it is the loss of life, which always seems to serve as

such a potent reminder.

* RON DAVIS is a private attorney who lives in Huntington Beach. He

can be reached by e-mail at o7 RDD@socal.rr.com.f7