The Barometer Online

After we reflected on things to be thankful for during Thanksgiving last week, we realized something important. We're thankful for our jobs. Not only are we thankful for the actual employment, but we are thankful that our newspaper still exists in this current day and age.

We were in India for my cousin's wedding three years ago and stopped in to visit some family in Bombay for a few days. The day before Thanksgiving in 2005, we were touring the city and visited the landmark Taj Palace Hotel one evening. I took a picture from the same three-quarter angle as the burning building photo that has recently been on front pages around the world.

I went home for Thanksgiving - home being Alaska. Please don't ask me about Sarah Palin. I also do not live in an igloo or travel via dog sled. Thanksgiving was pretty typical, except we celebrated on Friday because most of the family was out in the woods for the annual deer hunt.

I'm sure we're all familiar with this uniquely American folktale: "You can be anything you want to be. Perhaps even president one day." Thanks to President-elect Barack Obama, the american dream appears to be alive and well. Not to be a killjoy, but I think this is an unattainable myth for many people like me.