It's easy to be cynical about what New Yorkers have to be thankful for in 2009. The state's finances are a mess, its governor ineffective, the legislature a joke, infrastructure crumbling, health care system teetering, economy stagnant and education system hugely expensive.
On the other hand, as we like to say in editorial pages, I took a walk today in an idyllic state park only two miles from our house. The birds were singing, the deer cavorting and streams gurgling on a piece of publicly owned land less than ten miles from the Capitol. New York has recently expanded this park to help hold back the suburban sprawl which had seen McMansions proliferate in the area before the recession stalled their advance.
Overall, you have to give New York credit for having a great system of parks, including the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park, the largest public reserve in the lower 48 states.
More importantly of course, most New Yorkers are healthy and won't be hungry tomorrow. Millions will have loved ones to share a meal with. Those are joys even a dysfunctional government usually can't screw up.
Happy Thanksgiving.
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A great Thanksgiving to you and yours Jay. And hope for a better NY government, though, admittedly, that's a low bar.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Gary Craig