Dr. Jim Surrell, Journal columnist

In my judgment, one of the most important things we can remember to do on a daily basis is to give thanks for many of the things in our life. Of course, just some of the things we should be thankful for include our personal interactions with family, friends, co-workers, and others, as well as for various daily activities and events that may occur, for various holidays, and much more.

For example, our national Veterans Day date was Sunday and later this month we will be celebrating our annual Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year.

Here is some brief history of Veterans Day in the U.S. Veterans Day was originally called Armistice Day, commemorating the signing of the agreement that ended World War I at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918. The name of this very significant federal holiday was changed to Veterans Day in 1954. At that time, it became a day to honor all the men and women who had served in the armed forces of the United States. Further, special Veterans Day ceremonies are held at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia every year. We all need to remember to frequently thank our veterans for their dedicated service to protect our freedoms.

This year, we will celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 22. Thanksgiving Day was first recognized as an official federal holiday by the United States government when President George Washington proclaimed the first national Day of Thanksgiving in 1789. For many years there was no specific national date set for the nation to celebrate a Thanksgiving Day. Eventually, in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a federal bill officially proclaiming Thanksgiving Day holiday to always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. Today, this is a very special day that brings so many families and friends together to celebrate this wonderful holiday.

With regard to our personal interactions with others, I truly believe that the words, “Thank You” should be viewed as two of the most important words in our personal vocabulary. These two words are meant to be an expression of gratitude in appreciation for some kind words or deeds that we have received from another person. Our saying thanks is a sincere recognition of some goodness or kindness that has been given to us. In addition, I believe that all of us especially appreciate receiving a hand written note saying “Thank You” for something we did for others

Perhaps the letters in “Thank You” could give us the following advice.

T – “Thank You” can never be said too many times

H – Helping others is a great way to show our thanks to them

A – Always thank our Veterans for their patriotic service

N – Never forget to reply to a “Thank You” with “You’re Welcome”

K – Know your true friends and thank them often

Y – Your “Thank You” will always be truly appreciated

O – Opportunity to show you truly care for the kindness you received

U – Use “Thank You” notes in addition to your words

OK, you can’t get off without two silly Thanksgiving Jokes: 1. They wouldn’t let the Thanksgiving turkey go into the church on Thanksgiving Day because he kept using “Fowl” language. 2. Which side of the Thanksgiving turkey has the most feathers on it? The outside.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Jim Surrell is the author of “The ABC’s For Success In All We Do” and the “SOS (Stop Only Sugar) Diet” books. Requests for health topics for this column are encouraged. Contact Dr. Surrell by email at sosdietdoc@gmail.com.