Coosa Valley News is proud to welcome guest columnist David Dawson, who has granted CVN permission to run his yearly Thanksgiving column. For years, David served as sports editor for the Rome News-Tribune but now calls Nashville home as he serves as Assistant Director of Athletics Communication at Vanderbilt University. *Editors note* We always loved to read David’s “Thankful Thanksgiving” articles, so it’s an absolute pleasure to share his 2024 version with Northwest Georgia.

When I first sat down to write this year’s Thanksgiving column, it dawned on me that most people would probably be expecting me to mention Vanderbilt’s historic, glorious, stunning, epic, monumental, one-for-the-ages victory over No. 1-ranked Alabama as the top item on my list.

But oh, how wrong you are.

I will not, in fact, even hint at bringing up Vanderbilt’s historic, glorious, stunning, epic, monumental, one-for-the-ages victory over No. 1-ranked Alabama.

Why not, you ask? Because it would be silly for me to do so. After all, I feel quite certain that every one already knows how I feel about Vanderbilt’s historic, glorious, epic, monumental, one-for-the-ages victory over No. 1-ranked Alabama.

Therefore, if you’ve showed up today thinking you are going to read about how thankful I am that the Lord allowed me to live to see the day when the Vanderbilt football team — yes, the Vanderbilt FOOTBALL team — would pull off a historic, glorious, monumental, one-for-the-ages victory over No. 1-ranked Alabama, well, you are going to be sorely disappointed. I am simply too big of a person to gloat about that.

Instead, I will be turning my attention today to other matters, some big and some small, that fill my heart with gratitude.

And I will do that by saying that I AM THANKFUL …

  • For the times when I walk out of the convenient store, carrying my go-to snacks — a bag of cheddar-cheese Combos and a cold Mountain Dew;
  • For comedians who make me laugh without making me cringe. (I’m looking at you, Tim Hawkins and Nate Bargatze);
  • For trips to McDonald’s with Jonah to get him a sweet tea;
  • For the “lighting of the green” concert that Amy Grants puts on each year (with free admission!) at Lipscomb University. (If hearing Amy Grant sing “Tender Tennessee Christmas” doesn’t ramp up your holiday spirit, then you should move to the mountain that overlooks Whoville).
  • For that wonderful feeling of waking up and realizing it’s Saturday — and I’ve got nowhere to be;
  • For the joy of joining hands with my family around the table on Thanksgiving;
  • For my dad’s legacy of love, leadership and loyalty. (And his passion for alliteration that he passed down to his son, obviously).
  • For the old, rugged cross;
  • For 20 years — and counting — with my teammate and soulmate; the girl with the gorgeous smile; the girl I’m still trying to impress after all these years.
  • For Don and Glenn and Joe and Timothy and Randy and Bernie and the other Don. (You might know them better as the Eagles).
  • For the smell of the living room at my parents’ house;
  • For the electric lawn mower that I purchased last spring. No gas, no oil, no pull-string, no nothin’. Just press the button and she starts right up. Every time. It’s a modern-day miracle, if you ask me;
  • For Mike Waldrop’s infectious laughter;
  • For pulling up in the driveway and seeing our sweet little Holly Belle looking out the window, awaiting our arrival;
  • For days when shorts and a T-shirt are all that’s required of me;
  • For the moment when my laptop has finally finished installing the update, and I can get back to whatever it was that I was doing;
  • For Sunday mornings at First Baptist Church, Goodlettsville;
  • For those times when I look at my phone and realize that I have no missed calls, no unread text messages and no new emails.
  • For the refreshing waters of Wave Country water park on those sunny, scorching-hot, summer days.
  • For my wife’s spaghetti (onion-free, of course);
  • For the fact that my sons get just as excited as I do when we bring down the Christmas trees from the attic;
  • For frisbee-throwing sessions with Luke;
  • For the satisfying feeling of finally playing a particular drum fill correctly after weeks (and sometimes months) of practice;
  • For another year with our sweet, gracefully-aging girl, Chloe, who still — after 15 years — wants nothing more than to lay beside us on the couch.
  • For blue cheese dressing from Longhorn’s;
  • For priceless memories of special friends — Mrs. Anne, Randy, Jim and others — who I miss so much;
  • For a job that allows me the opportunity to tell “the old, old story”;
  • For random text messages from random friends on random days;
  • For the fact that my mom taught me that Thanksgiving isn’t a once-a-year holiday; it’s a 24/7/365-mindset.
  • For Vanderbilt’s historic, glorious, epic, monumental, one-for-the-ages victory over No. 1-ranked Alabama. (Okay, fine. I lied when I said I wasn’t going to mention it. Sue me.)
  • Most of all, I am thankful for the opportunity to once again — as I’ve done on this day for the past two-plus decades — to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving and a very Merry Christmas.