John Scalzie's weekend assignment #35

Weekend Assignment #35: Tell us something you should be thankful for -- but that you're usually not. After all, it's easy to be thankful for all the things you know you should be thankful for: Your family and friends, your home, the good things that come from living wherever (and whenever you do). So try stretching a little and think about something that you're thankful for -- that you usually don't think much about at all. It can be serious or silly; it's up to you. You just have to be genuinely thankful for it.

OK, here's mine:  I'm thankful for all the people who get under my skin, those who get on my last nerve.  Right now, I'm picturing online acquaintances (hi Jerry and Cranky), but there are plenty in real life too.

Reason number one I'm thankful for them is that they teach me restraint.  I've learned to leave a lot of things unsaid, remembering that behind every screen name is a real, live person with feelings.

Reason number two is that people like this give the rest of us something to laugh about!  The best chatroom laughs I have are at the expense of certain people with whom I've shared this wonderful Internet for years.

And reason number three is that, by their outside-the-box behavior, I can feel "holier-than-thou" about my "superior wisdom".  It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. 

So... this entry is dedicated to everybody in chat rooms who ever got on my last nerve... because they've given me expanded horizens (not to mention an expanded posterior from sitting too long at the computer)!