A MILLION THANKS

from shirley's cottage

A Million Thanks
"My mother thanks you-my father thanks you, and I thank you." If you are a baby boomer, or a fan of old movies, you might recognize those words from the movie, "Yankee Doodle Dandy". James Cagney, (remember him?) played George M. Cohen, one America’s most famous songwriters. The family was in vaudeville, and at the end of their act, little George would come out with the thank you.
I don’t know why that scene stuck with me, but it did. If I had a thank you to say, many times I would say it that way just to be a little funny.
I hadn’t seen the movie for a lot of years. It was on AMC the other night. Being older than a baby boomer, I fell asleep before George said his thank you’s.
The next morning I had the local news on TV. One of the commercials had several Elvis impersonators getting haircuts. One of them said to the barber, "Thank you. Thank you very much." He did sound like Elvis. Elvis used to say that many times during his concerts.
On the way to work, I had the radio on, as usual. There was a report about saying thank you. A man wrote an article about it. (I didn’t get his name. I tuned in late.). He started thinking in the course of a day, how many people deserved a thank you from him, and how many actually got it.
It was an experiment of sorts, but he started writing thank you notes. Most of them were email. He did write some and sent them via "snail mail".
The person may have been a clerk who helped him with his shopping, or the receptionist at the doctor’s office. In the course of a week or so, he thanked over 90 people in one way or another.
If his appreciation made the person feel good, it made him feel better for having acknowledged a kindness.
I’m not suggesting we all go out and send a hundred thank you notes every week. So many times I tell myself I am going to send a thank you note, or make a phone call just to keep in touch. I rarely do.
I will be having some time off in the next few weeks. This is a perfect time to do some extra thanking of my own. I might do some emailing. Most will be handwritten. There is something more personal about a handwritten note. I have lots of blank cards sitting in my desk drawer, bought with good intentions, but just gathering dust. I’m going to brush them off and get writing.


Before I get writing, I will start right now with you, my readers. I appreciate you more than you know. My kids thank you, my grandkids thank you, and I thank you. Thank you! Thank you very much!
One more thanks to my best girlfriend, Judy, for this recipe. It is her favorite appetizer.
We first had this at a friends’ home when we would vacation in Minocqua. It makes me think of the "good old days".We would pack up our collective kids,(all seven of them), and head north for fun at the lake.
Melba’s Hot Crabmeat Spread
you will need:
8 oz cream cheese
2 4.5 oz cans of good crabmeat, drained and flaked
½ cup sour cream
2 T green onion, chopped
1 T milk
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t garlic salt
pinch of pepper
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Mix all ingredients except almonds
Spread in an ungreased 9 inch pan
Sprinkle with the almonds
Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes
Serve warm with your choice of crackers
(and a nice glass of wine, if it suits you)
Enjoy.