THANKSGIVING AT THE END OF THE MILLENIUM

This coming Thanksgiving is the next to the last of the 20th century. We have much to be thankful for. Watching the PBS series on the history of New York City (my home town) I was reminded over and over of the greatness of our country, and how thankful I am to be living in America at this place, in this time.

The story of America is, in large part--- Manifest Destiny and Immigration. My parents were among the millions who came to Ellis Island to seek a better life. They came from small villages like in the movie, "Fiddler On the Roof." Like Tevye's children, my mother was one of five sisters, and her father thought she would have a better life in America. Imagine a father sending his daughter to a far off land, probably never to see her again. Where would I be without him?

It took WWII to convince most everybody that prejudice is wrong. I am thankful that we won WWII and that we got through the Cold War, brinkmanship and the balance of terror without having had a nuclear holocaust. I am thankful that we learned some lessons from the two great world wars and that many nations are now seeking ways to establish an enduring peace. I am thankful there is a United Nations which has an international view and which promotes human rights and world peace.

I am thankful that I was born in America, a child of immigrants, in the land of opportunity. I am thankful that I enjoyed the benefits of the New York Public School System, being taught by dedicated, professional teachers who kept me and my classmates to high standards, which included 'self-control' exercises each day and the Palmer Method of penmanship. I am thankful that my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. McLoughlin, called me "the class scientist." She gave me the impression that she thought I could be a doctor if I wanted to, and if I worked hard.

I did want to and I did work hard. Junior High School (seventh through ninth grades) was a brand new building in 1940. It was five stories tall and took a whole square block and cost a million dollars. I took a long look at that building and considered the classrooms full of typewriters and the shop full of power machinery and I thought I knew what a million dollars was. I am thankful that in these intermediate grades I was taught algebra, English literature and science, among other courses. My French teacher was so keen on pronunciation that on first hearing, Frenchmen thought I was French. Not for long, though.

I am thankful that from junior high school I was admitted to the competitive and prestigious Bronx High School of Science, where I learned the philosophy and value of science and the scientific method, and was stimulated on every side to intellectual and personal development, from both teachers and fellow students. We were all preparing for college. Most everybody in my class obtained higher professional degrees and academic positions. I feel grateful to have been among them.

I am thankful that in New York, goals were set high--- we were given a vision of opportunity and success. Shortly before I was born, I have learned recently, the Empire State Building was completed. It became a dominant and optimistic symbol in a time that was otherwise depressed and discouraged. It was built in 13 months, a marvel of planning, architecture and engineering. It was a symbol of our country eventually rising out of its miserable condition.

I am thankful for all the school trips we took. We went to the top of the Empire State building and beheld our city. From the Statue of Liberty we could see the amazing and awe-inspiring skyline. We went to the Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium. We went to the Bronx Zoo and the Bronx Botanical Gardens. I recently learned that the Bronx Botanical Gardens is one of the world's top, and just think, I often wandered there, unaware of its stature, oblivious of the city. We went to Radio City Music Hall and saw first-run movies and a magnificant stage shows. We went to classical symphonic concerts by Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra, which were free. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art.

During this time the New York Yankees played baseball in the Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. We got free grandstand tickets from the Police Athletic League. The Yankees always won. They won every game, then then every pennant, then every world series--- or so it seemed. I was thankful for that, and for seeing Joe Dimaggio and Lou Gehrig play. I thought it would always be that way.

I am thankful that the University of Michigan accepted me as an undergraduate and as a medical student. I am thankful that I graduated from such a prestigious medical school. I am thankful for the excellent internship I experienced at Sinai Hospital of Detroit. I am thankful that I received my psychiatric training at the internationally famous Lafayette Clinic. I am thankful that the department of psychiatry invited me to be a faculty member. I am thankful for the privilege of having learned and taught there.

I am especially thankful to have ended up in Grosse Pointe, which has accepted this Bronx boy graciously. After the Bronx, Grosse Pointe is like heaven. I love the homes and the landscaping here, the brickwork, the gardens, the venerable trees.

I am thankful to have had the opportunity to lecture at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, the Senior Men's Club, the Memorial Church and the Witenagemote. I think I am the first member of the Wit who was not born and raised in Grosse Pointe. I am thankful to be around gracious and intelligent people who are both warm and welcoming.

I am thankful for the abundance of food, for the relative absence of disease, for the quality of medical care. I am thankful that America has endorsed, upheld and utilized the principles and theories of Sigmund Freud more than any other nation. In this respect, I appreciate the philosophy in this country, that the unique individual is important, not just the welfare of the group as a whole. Not only is the individual important, but he/she should be helped to realize his/her full potential as a human being.

I am thankful for motor cars and bicycles and garage doors that open magically. I appreciate interstate highways. I am thankful for indoor plumbing with hot and cold running water. I am thankful for radios, television, refrigerators, washing machines, dispose-alls and dishwashers. I am thankful for central heating and air-conditioning.

I am grateful to be living among secure and successful people, people who are constantly maintaining and improving their homes, who have a sense of civic purpose and appreciate beauty.

These are some of my thoughts as I approach another Thanksgiving Day. We all have much to be thankful for. This is the time to think about it and express it, while feasting on turkey, crenberry sauce and stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie--- and don't forget the mashed potatoes and gravy.

Dr Bloom is Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is a member of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and on the editorial board of the Wayne County Medical Society. He welcomes comments at his email address--- vbloom@comcast.net.