Margaret Serious

Thoughts from Bartlett’s Quotations: Thanksgiving

The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 250,000 people in the United States alone. A quarter of a million people are dead. It’s enough to make one think that n0t only Thanksgiving plans, but perhaps the holiday itself, should be canceled.

That thought has crossed my mind — and left it.

Looking up quotations about thanks and thankfulness in Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations has been like using my tuning fork before playing music — making sure things, and thanks, are on the correct wavelength. What follows are some of the quotations that have helped me. (Rest and catch up with this post if you missed the start of the series.)

If you can’t find joy, settle for relief.

“For this relief much thanks; ’tis bitter cold, and I am sick at heart.”

— from Act I, Scene 1 of “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare (1564-1610).

Or, if you’re thinking there’s nothing to be thankful for, surprise! That’s been done, too:

“Thank you for nothing.”

— from “Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605-1615)” by Miguel de Cervantes, 1547-1616.

Maybe you’re just waiting for your metaphorical ship to come in and days to be better. Here’s something to think of then:

“Thank God for peace! Thank God for peace, when the great gray ships come in.”

— from “When the Great Gray Ships Come In (New York Harbor, August 20, 1898)” by Guy Wetmore Carryl (1873-1904).

I’ll keep checking for more. Meanwhile, thanks for reading!

Margaret Serious has a page on Facebook.

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Browsing through Bartlett’s