Happy Thanksgiving. We say it without thinking about it, often. No matter what is going on, we truly do have many reasons to be thankful on this Thanksgiving Day. Let’s look at just five.

1. Plentiful Food – Are there people who go hungry in the U.S.A.? Yes. We sure try hard to make sure that everyone gets fed. According to World Hunger, one in nine people on the globe go hungry. Not feeling hungry, but malnutrition.

My late mother-in-law once accused me of feeding my husband an “old, cold baloney sandwich” for dinner. Whether you are having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings or an “old, cold” bologna sandwich from a paper sack, please be thankful.

2. Literacy – You can read. Hale, yeah. Reading is one of the best things in life. Whether you are reading from your android, Kindle, laptop, or a book, you can educate, entertain or calm your mind. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 1870, 20% of the population, aged 14 and older, could not read or write in any language. The Washington Post reported that the U.S.A. is the 7th most literate country on the planet. We are behind Finland, Norway and Iceland and a few other places, but we are 7th out of the 61 countries for which there are statistics.