Most of us have a lot to be thankful about. Not only am I thankful for my family and friends, but I am thankful to have lived to the age of almost 80 (2 more days, God willing, as they say).

And having a day when the entire country can think about the things that they are thankful for and hopefully find ways to express their gratitude is clearly something to be thankful for.

But…..isn’t it time to separate an annual day of gratitude from a pretend story about the friendship between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans with whom they first came into contact? When I was growing up, I learned that Thanksgiving was to celebrate this wonderful joint meal – gratitude for what we had today was not on my grade school menu (or if it was, it was very secondary).

Let’s forget the Pilgrims on Thanksgiving Day. And, to those Native Americans, who note Thanksgiving Day as a day of mourning, let’s forget that, too, on this day.

Let’s remove the real or supposed history and just celebrate the day to be thankful for our present, not our past.