So, as I considered what to write about this holiday, it occurred to me that I could spend a whole post whining about all the things I am not thankful for, or I could write about what I am thankful for.

While I have lots of fodder for the former, I choose the later because I find myself more inclined to focus on the positive than the negative.

So this week I will say a few words about a few things I am thankful for.

I start with my friends.

I am blessed to have the best and coolest friends on the planet.  They are there for me as I go through these stressful days.  They inspire me, they comfort me and they humble me.  And sometimes, when I need it, they do the most important thing I can ask:  They tell me the truth.

I have friends from my childhood, and friends made just this year and countless in between. 

Some are local, some are far away, but all are precious. 

There a even a few I have never actually met, yet our lives have been touched.

I appreciate all Veterans Day celebrations, but this year it was a bit more personal than usual.

This year I went to the University of Washington to witness the dedication of the brand new UW Medal of Honor Memorial.

Let’s take a flashback.   When my blog was in its infancy (in fact it was still at Blogspot) in early 2006, some harsh words were spoken at a meeting of the UW student senate.  The issue was a motion to honor famed UW graduate Greg ‘Pappy’ Boyington, of Baa Baa Black Sheep fame.

Here is a quick summary of what set me off:

One standout speaker against the resolution was Ashley Miller, who noted that “many monuments at UW already commemorate rich white men.”

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Another person who actively opposed it was Jill Edwards, who tried to table the motion and failed, then questioned “whether it was appropriate to honor a person who killed other people”.

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Karl Smith proposed an amendment to strike any mention of how many aircraft he had shot down.

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The elections yesterday had some surprises, and some not too surprising results.

In the local election, the race for King County Executive was a hotly contested one between former newscaster Susan Hutchinson, and King County Council member Dow Constantine.

I found it ironic that after watching the 2008 election where Obama won by promising change from the day to day politics as usual, here in King County, the opposite held forth.  Hutchinson’s ran on a campaign of asking to end the business as usual attitude that has lead to King County’s financial messes.  Constantine on the other hand ran on a campaign of “she’s a Republican”.

Seriously, his closing comments at a debate as well as TV ads said pretty much nothing else, even trying to smear her by likening her to Sarah Palin.  It was one of the cheapest dirtiest campaign ads I have seen.

Well, that apparently is enough in Seattle; either that or a pretty woman need not apply.

The Mayor’s race is still up for grabs.  Hope and Change already  won there with incumbent Greg Nichols getting knocked off the top two primary ballot.