Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving from the USA

Visit the Evidence Files Facebook and YouTube pages; Like, Follow, Subscribe or Share!

In the United States today, the tradition is to list the various things we are thankful for, so I am going to regale you with some of mine.

First and foremost I am thankful for my family, and my friends who may as well be family. I don’t suppose I am always the easiest to live with, motivated as I am by so many different things and often unable to say no to the many requests and projects that derive from them. My work has taken me all across the world, imposing upon what precious time we have together, yet they remain ever supportive. Moreover, without them, any achievement would suffer from a certain emptiness, no matter how remarkable or beneficial it might be.

I am so grateful for having this beautiful little darling in my life. Look at that pensive face!

My colleagues over the years also deserve attribution. Contrary to the path for many, I have enjoyed a wide variety of careers, a peculiarity which has brought an extraordinarily diverse array of people into my world. From the fire department, to law enforcement, to the technology world, and land of education, I think I may have met and befriended some of the most wonderful, intelligent, funny, and important people in the world… even if at least one of them once fed me dog jerky (a story that will leave about three of you giggling).

Speaking of the education world, I want to highlight three specific institutions. My alma mater, the University at Buffalo in New York (UB), opened doors to me I never imagined possible. It first introduced me to the world outside of the USA, and set the tone for the remainder of my life’s work even if the script by then had not yet been written. UB led to certain lifelong friendships with truly brilliant scholars. Softwarica College of IT & E-Commerce in Nepal has immersed me in the technology realm in Nepal, an area of such fascination and potential. Allowing me to take part in the technological advancement of the country and engage with its future innovators is an exquisite honor. The Global Academy of Tourism and Hospitality Education (GATE) in Nepal does extraordinary work in the hospitality sector with an eye toward sustainability—something I believe is so critical for the future of this planet and its children. GATE College provides me an avenue for meeting a great number of people involved in beneficent work; it operates with a mission intensely focused on producing brilliant minds of the highest compassion, and instills confidence against what occasionally feels like a hopeless future. All three of these places hold such significant meaning to me for their positive influence.

I thank you, my readers, who give some purpose to my various scrawled ramblings, often of suspiciously random content or vocal opinions. Writing brings me an intellectual and spiritual excitement that for some probably seems rather weird. (I know the assignment of research papers in school rarely elicits cheers!) Nonetheless, the emails and comments I receive from posting on this site suggests it offers at least some ostensible benefit above merely pontificating alone in a dusty library or den.

Finally, I am extremely grateful for the various opportunities the last year has wrought. I am in the midst of several really stimulating projects, some of which many of you are already aware, and others for which few to none of you are. (That sounded like Bilbo Baggins’s birthday speech… sorry about that). As those efforts continue taking shape, I will share highlights of them here as appropriate. Relatedly, I sometimes wonder if my writing too often focuses on criticism or negativity. While I think critique is a necessary function of a healthy society, too much of anything is never a good thing. So, I will endeavor to keep focused on maintaining the balance of the inspiring and the malevolent, with a lot of in-between; hopefully introducing my new projects will emphasize some of the good. In the meantime, for those partaking in this holiday tradition, may you and your circle—whether family, friends, or both—enjoy a fantastic day! For everyone else, remember that the observation of an official or traditional holiday is not necessary to celebrate what we have.

Pictured: me and one of the most important people in my life!