Every year since I started this bog, I post a Thanksgiving Day message.  I always give thanks for many things.  Once again this year, there is much for me to be personally thankful for….but this time please allow me a point of personal privilege in writing about Thanksgiving.

I am very fortunate to have a brother just two years younger than myself.  We went through all the stages of growing up together.  We shared the same room during all those formative years.  We both learned about life and talked about all that every day while growing up.

That brother’s name is Tom.  He and I could not be more different personality-wise.  I was always a little quiet, reserved and thoughtful in those early years.  Tom was vocal and outgoing, a born salesman.

We both took an interest in radio broadcasting.  We even put together our own low-power radio station (we didn’t have a license, but the statute of limitations has expired, I think).  We gave the station the call letters of WART….strangely enough, a man bought a radio station in Plainfield, Indiana a few years later and actually, legally got the call letters WART.  Tom & I were ahead of our time.

He went into sales and marketing, I chose radio programming and later the news end of the business.  But we both shared that love of media.

With our very different personalities, it is a miracle we didn’t fight more than we did.  Even though we often looked at life very differently, we always had a good time when together, and that is still true to this day.

There is a special bond that exists with the brother that shared the process of growing up with you.  No matter how much time goes by, once we are together again, it’s like no time has gone by.  The bond remains strong.

My brother Tom is enduring a tough situation now.  He was diagnosed with cancer, and he chose an aggressive treatment plan.  That didn’t surprise me, it’s the decision I would expect Tom would choose.

The treatments are causing him a lot of pain and suffering.  Even though his medical team is very positive about his prognosis, and he has the solid support of his family and friends, it is very painful for me to see this.

When something like this happens to my brother Tom, it’s just like it is happening to me.  It is difficult to watch all this happen to him.

But the good news is that Tom is well enough to travel and he will see his family this Thanksgiving Day.  His son Patrick, a newly-minted member of the United States Marine Corps, will see Tom for the first time since his cancer diagnosis.  His daughter Lauren, a college student in Florida, will also have the chance to visit with her Dad.

I will get the chance to visit with Tom as well.  It will be good to see him and his lovely wife Kathy.

So, what am I most thankful for this 2017 Thanksgiving Day?  I am thankful that my brother Tom, despite the awful side effects of his treatments, has an excellent chance for a full recovery from the cancer in his body.  I am thankful that I will have the opportunity to see him on this Thanksgiving Day.