Giving True Thanks...

Seeing as that for more than a few years this blog has been published on Thursday, we've had quite a few topics with a Thanksgiving theme. Wrestling has a long tradition on the November holiday, dating back to large live events across the country. Most fans know that those shows eventually evolved to the early incarnations of Starrcade and Survivor Series being held on Turkey Day.

These days, the superstars are home with their families on Thanksgiving. It's a double-edged sword, seeing as that an after dinner event could possibly still be a great draw. On the other hand, who should really be working on such a family-oriented day? Although a great discussion, it's not what we're moving towards here.

It was actually Instagram that put this week's thoughts into motion. I recently opened an Instagram account for the blog (@jws_wrestling_memorabilia), as if this entity needed more of a social media presence. In thinking of a Thanksgiving photo post, I decided that last year's creation would be suitable since it would be "fresh" to Instagram. Due to recent events, I almost changed my mind.

The photo that I shared around last year as a Thanksgiving blog greeting featured one of my favorite characters, "The Ugandan Giant" Kamala. As a slight takeoff of the time that Kamala "ate" a live chicken on Tuesday Night Titans, my photo featured Mattel's very realistic Kamala figure eyeing up a nice representation of a gobbler. Just several days ago it was revealed that James Harris, the man behind the Kamala makeup, was hospitalized and on life support.

The health struggles of Mr. Harris over the past few years have been well documented, including but not limited to the man losing his legs. With the grim news of his hospitalization, I immediately dreaded memorializing the man in the very blog entry that you're now reading. Obviously if that were the case, Instagram would have to wait a few years before seeing the picture post that I described.

Amazingly, as of press time the news is that James "Kamala" Harris has been removed from life support after regaining the ability to breathe on his own. While he likely has much recovery to do, the news elicits a huge sigh of relief from his friends and fans. In his honor, I did in fact post the "Kamala's Thanksgiving" photo on Instagram which you will also find at the end of this blog entry.

Instagram postings nor even wrestling memorabilia are the true story here, though. A message that cannot be preached enough, Thanksgiving Day or otherwise, is the fact that we really should be thankful for all that we have. If you have the time and ability to be reading this blog entry right now, even that shows that you have things to be thankful for. You have time to be sitting and reading something that, on most weeks, is a pure enjoyable read and has no bearing on life as a whole. On my end, I am thankful that I have the time and means to bring it to you. It also says that you have an Internet connection of some sort, which makes your life a lot easier no matter how much you may deny that fact.

And what about Mr. Harris? We can be sure that he is thankful for being alive, as is his family. As Jim Ross reminds us, tomorrow is not guaranteed. If you're fortunate enough to have even one person in your life, take the time to think about them. Don't take them for granted. Savor each day that you have with them. Enjoy the present...