Without a doubt, last year’sThanksgiving was my worst. Let’s forget the fact that it was the first day in south Texas that I was able to turn off the air conditioning and open the windows in my apartment. Nothing says the holidays like 80 degrees.

The real problem was that I was alone. Now, I’ve been alone on Thanksgiving before but this situation was different. I had loaned my car to a friend in anticipation of my stay-at-home holiday weekend, so I was trapped in my apartment with no way to get out. Normally, I wouldn’t mind a weekend at home, but just knowing that I couldn’t get out of the city made me feel incarcerated.

The highlight of the day, my mid-day meal, was a real stinker too. As a vegetarian, I have never found much pleasure in the Thanksgiving dinner piece de resistance, turkey. I like all the fixings, though, and usually load up on starches and gravy.

However, putting together an entire veggie/starchy/gravy feast for just me didn’t sound fun, so I resorted to an old standby, fettuccini alfredo with broccoli. The meal prep was going well until I broke the glass in which I was microwaving the broccoli. Though I did my best picking out the broken bits, I am in little doubt that my Thanksgiving meal last year was seasoned with slivers of glass.

So this year, even though I found myself on my own, I decided to make the most of the holiday. In preparation, I made a list of everything I’m thankful for. Here it is.

    —The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. The holiday season officially begins for me when the Rockettes perform their famous fan kicks with bare legs in 30-degree weather.

    —“The Girls Next Door.” This TV series about the lives of Playboy bunnies always raises my self-esteem a few notches when I watch these blonde buffoons endure the most difficult challenge of trying to put one foot in front of the other.

    —Everyone who tells me he/she enjoys my column. This always makes my day. Thank you!

    —My mom and dad. Even though I’m over 30, they still hang a Christmas stocking for me (and my bird!) and ask for my list to Santa, though I’m pretty sure they know that I’m onto this whole Santa ruse.

    —Snow. Thatf rozen white stuff makes everything quiet and pretty. Until you slip and fall on your backside. Remember: always take a bow.

    —My sister-in-law. She always sends me a Thanksgiving card because, even though it was years and years ago that she was far away from home, she remembers what it’s like to be away from family around the holidays.

    —Coffee at The Cup. Service with a smile and a muffin sample.

    —Breakfast for dinner at the Longhorn Saloon. Hash browns with cheddar cheese and a pancake bigger than my head.

    —The traffic on Atlantic Street. Even though I jaywalk every day (just kidding, local law enforcement officers), someone ALWAYS stops for me so I can cross the street.

    —This column. Writing this column allows me to express myself. I am thankful for that freedom and the newspaper that so graciously offers me space to speak.

The last on this list of items is the most important to me and what I teach. Our first amendment right to free speech is an important motivator as it inspires many a student to write.

And it was a topic at theThanksgiving dinner which I most classily invited myself to. (A friend mentioned what a great blow-out it is every year, so bad, roaring grrl that I am, I had to crash the party—with green bean casserole in hand, mind you.)

Anyway, at the party a few colleagues and I cornered our local councilman (poor guy; he never had a chance) to ask about recent events involving the Carpita building. Previous to the party, I’d had an opportunity to speak with the mayor about the subject.

(Here’s something else I’m thankful for. After a quick jauntt o Alco, I walked across the street to the mayor’s office and sat down without an appointment for the better part of an hour with the man himself. That’s what I call representative government.)

After my conversation with the mayor and my councilman (who survived our Thanksgiving dinner inquisition, by the way), I decided that I’m very lucky to live in a country that celebrates my right to a dissenting opinion.

Instead of feeling trapped (like I did during last year’s Thanksgiving fiasco), I feel liberated this year. I’ve found that here in Dillon, I have a voice.

And, even more importantly, I found out at the Thanksgiving party that my voice is only one in a choir of voices. And in the collective strength of our voices, the silent majority need not be silent any longer.