For many families, Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season. Does your family wait until after Thanksgiving to put up the Christmas tree? Or do you wait until it’s closer to Christmas? I want to share a funny Christmas tree story with you. Every year, I put up a small tree for my grandson. Last year, I never got around to taking my tree down. It stayed up all year.
That’s right, you read that correctly. I’ve had my tree up since last Christmas. A coworker suggested I keep it up throughout the year and just decorate it for each upcoming season or holiday. For instance, I could hang Thanksgiving-themed decorations on it this weekend.
So what are you thankful for this year? Is it your good health, family, friends, or something else? A warm home and a loving family are two things I am thankful for. I am also thankful that I have been writing this column for over seven years. And it’s been a real journey.
A few years ago, my column even won a Hooper award. This is something I consider a significant achievement. I appreciate being recognized for something I enjoy doing. In addition, I appreciate receiving emails from those who have read my columns. The majority are positive, but I also receive negative ones. But then you cannot please everyone all the time.
Even when people don’t like the topics I cover, I appreciate their feedback. I appreciate the people who took the time to tell me they didn’t like my writing. Even negative comments are encouraging. Think about it. It means I stirred up something within them. It means they took time out of their busy day to tell me how much they didn’t like my column.
Also, for over three years I’ve been doing a podcast called Catch my Killer. Again, the purpose is to stir up compassion in listeners so they might provide a useful tip to law enforcement. People will often ask me, “why do you write about true crime?”
I actually became intrigued about true crime stories as a teenager. In 1983, we received an early morning phone call. During that time, cell phones did not exist. And no phone call early in the morning is ever good news. My grandfather had called my father with bad news about my cousin Kathleen. Her boyfriend had killed her and then committed suicide.
This tragedy has haunted me for nearly 40 years. Throughout my life, I have felt like I needed an outlet for the grief I experienced. My solution was to write this column and speak to others on the podcast who have experienced similar losses.
Since my cousin’s death, I have lost several friends to homicide. However, their killers have been caught and punished. Losing a loved one to a criminal act is tragic, but it’s even more tragic when the killer goes unpunished.
Many of the people I write about in the column and interview for the podcast have suffered great losses. None of them ever recover or find what some people refer to as closure. Despite what people say, I don’t think anyone ever gets closure. They just learn to live with their loss.
Holidays are especially difficult. A woman I spoke with recently lost her brother in 2019. Someone murdered her little brother and dumped him into the sewer. Today, his murder remains unsolved and her family is still grieving the loss. Our conversation even covered how the holiday season is challenging because of the vacant seat at the dinner table
There will be many empty seats at different tables throughout the country. In memory of their lost loved ones, families will share meals, hugs, and memories. If you’re reading this, I hope you feel like you have something to be thankful for. This Thanksgiving, you have a lot to be grateful for; even if you don’t think so. If you woke up this morning, you were blessed with the gift of life. Make it a good day for yourself and those around you.
In honor of Thanksgiving 2022, I would like to thank the staff at the Clermont Sun and everyone who reads this column. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Marc is a longtime resident of Clermont County and an avid reader. Contact him through his website at www.themarcabe.com or through Facebook: www.Facebook.com/themarcabe or his Twitter account @themarcabe. Marc also has a podcast called Catch my Killer where he interviews family members seeking justice for their murdered loved ones. You can listen at www.catchmykiller.com.