Priority items

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reflect on the wonderful gifts money can't buy.

When you read about a group of young people skipping school to stand in line for two days to get the first copies of a new video game, you’ve just got to wonder about people’s priorities.

Lawrence police had to be called to the local store where the line was forming to keep order among the people who were waiting for the right to pay $500 or more for the new PlayStation 3.

Happy holidays!

Similar scenes – although we hope the lines will remain peaceful – are likely to be played out at other retail outlets in Lawrence on Friday, the unofficial opening of the Christmas shopping season. We want all Lawrence-area retailers to enjoy good business, but the increasingly commercialized connection between Thanksgiving and the frenzied search for the perfect gift at the perfect price seems like a disservice to a holiday that should inspire more reflection.

So, if only for a short time today, before you roll out your shopping cart on Friday, take a few minutes to consider the many blessings of life that money can’t buy.

Health, happiness, faith and family can’t be purchased at any store, and yet, they are among life’s most precious gifts. Many local families will be spending Thanksgiving with family and loved ones. Such opportunities are becoming all too rare as families splinter across the nation and around the world. The chance to be with those people who share your past and future is a wonderful gift.

Some people will be reaching out to those less fortunate by inviting them to their homes or serving them dinner at the annual Thanksgiving dinner provided by the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen. Those people deserve an extra portion of warm feelings for their unselfish acts.

Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. Although the legends we carry around about the first Thanksgiving may not be entirely accurate, they nonetheless include the story of some brave people who traveled to America and some generous natives who helped them survive. The overriding message, both then and now, seems to be, “We’re all in this together. We need to take care of one another.”

So, if you like to shop and have money to spend on a video game, a new car, a good-looking sweater, a tie or a new pair of shoes, go ahead and make the purchase. Lawrence stores should have a wide variety of goods to satisfy the need of most shoppers. Just remember that all of those things are simply accouterments to the love and sharing that truly make our lives worthwhile.

Happy Thanksgiving.