I'm not a "bah humbug" kind of guy, but Santa Claus should stay in his toy shop until my favorite holiday passes.

Thanksgiving is the best celebration of the year. It's a day that doesn't need the buildup that Christmas brings or the frenzy of gift buying.Thanksgiving requires the four F's and a G: food, family, friends, football and the G is for gratitude. "Thank you" are two simple, but extraordinary words that empower both the giver and the receiver in a gesture of appreciation for each other.Think about this. Say thank you to someone and you get a smile in return. That smile then puts a little jump in his step as he goes on with his day. Then, he just might pass along a bit of happiness to the next person, who might brighten someone else's dark day.Dartmouth University's research reports that people who give and receive gratitude exercise more regularly, are more alert, have more enthusiasm, and have fewer physical ailments. Grateful people also have lower levels of depression, place less importance on material goods, and do not discriminate.The movie, "The Secret" portrays a formula for living called the Laws of Attraction. The principle of this belief is that positive thinking will attract more opportunities for happiness while negative thoughts will bring along more unhappiness. Being grateful returns benefits and brings further good fortune.How many times have I done something nice for someone and after the fact, I say to myself, "He didn't even say thank you," or I hold a door open for someone and she walks through, eyes straight ahead, saying nothing? I used to get upset about these people. Now I feel sorry for them, thinking that my seemingly insignificant gesture might just be the best part of their day.This Thanksgiving, I'd like to thank some people outside of my beloved family and circle of close friends for the little things they do to make my personal world a better place.Thank you to Tom, the cashier at the Jim Thorpe Market who welcomes me with kind words.Thank you to Keith and Sherry who work at the Penn Forest transfer station. She wears a different set of cheerful "ears" each week, and he offers to pick up the heaviest of bags that I bring.Thank you to the kind woman who works in the Mauch Chunk Bank for telling me she reads my columns each week and likes that I "make people think."Thank you to my friend Tom, who gives brand-new baseballs to my son.Thank you to my neighbor Bill, who takes care of our dogs when we go on vacation.Thank you to the bus driver Keith, who drives my kids to school and tells me how well-behaved they are.Thank you to our friend Sylvia, who spends delightful times with our daughter and brings a smile to her face each time.Thank you to Mark, Neil, Tom and Bill, who fish with me. I am grateful for their companionship and for their love of nature.Thank you to Pino and the waitresses at Dom and Ali's for making me and my son feel special when we get takeout orders.Thank you to Rick, Jen and Robin from our Penn Forest Township Advisory Committee for their dedication and determination to make the new Recreation Park a great place for all our residents.Thank you to my son's barber Dustin, who not only gives him a great haircut, he engages me in some fascinating philosophical conversations.Thank you to Ryan and his crew at Yosti's Auto for the kind way you show appreciation for my business.Thank you to Marta, Emmett, Rod, Bob, Amy and Karen at the Times News office for pausing from your busy workday to welcome me when I stop in to say hello.No matter to me if none or all of these people see my little tributes. I'm throwing my thanks out into the universe with the hope that all of you who did read this column pay it forward by expressing your gratitude, not just on Thanksgiving Day, but each and every day of the year.Rich Strack can be reached at

katehep11@gmail.com.