I sit here on Thanksgiving afternoon listening to Bob Dylan’s Slow Train Coming and Planet Waves albums. Thirty years ago, listening to Planet Waves on a particular Thanksgiving afternoon, I promised myself that when I had a family, we would hold hands around the dinner table, and sing "Forever Young", off of that 1974 album with The Band, as our Thanksgiving tradition every year. Well, I never got married, and every Thanksgiving I work. It’s just another Thursday. Except that all of the bars and restaurants are closed. Livwright’s General store is closed too, can’t even get a RC and a Moonpie. I try not to let people know I’m by myself on Thanksgiving. They might ask me to share dinner with them out of pity. And that would just be even worse. But I’m used to it. I can handle it.

But my heart just breaks when I think of all of the lonely people during the holidays. It’s those folks that are alone on Christmas that really gets to me.

You could be the richest person in the world, but if you don’t have family and friends to share the holidays with, you are poor.

If you are reading this, and are alone during the holidays, we here at the Gazette want to tell you have a good friend in us.

I was reading the competition’s paper, and in their Dear Abby column (forgive me Ramona) there was a letter about the senior shut-ins and what we could do for them during the holidays. The letter suggested maybe helping such a person decorate their house for Christmas. They can get hurt doing this by themselves, or they may be in too bad of health to decorate. Having their home all decorated up can also cheer them up. Make sure to check on any elderly neighbors who will not have kinfolk dropping by to visit. Make sure they are sufficiently warm, and nourished. Give them nonperishable canned goods if you wish to give them food.

Look out for your fellow man. While this is the happiest time of the year for most, for many it can be very heartbreaking and lonely.