Each year since moving from Santa Barbara, Calif., to St. George in 2009, my wife Deb and I compose and send to relatives and friends a "Thanksgiving Thankful List" for the preceding year.

Each year since moving from Santa Barbara, Calif., to St. George in 2009, my wife Deb and I compose and send to relatives and friends a "Thanksgiving Thankful List" for the preceding year. We are glad we made the move and have many things for which to be thankful. We hope sharing them brings a smile or two and an acknowledgment that even in tough economic times there are things for which to be grateful. Below is our list for 2012. 1. We appreciate the natural forces that allow spheres to exist. Without spheres there would be no bowling balls. Without bowling balls, Deb and I could not go bowling. If we could not go bowling there would be no bowling league to join. Without the league we would not have honed our bowling skills — to the 150 range anyway — and met a bunch of great folks. 2. We are thankful for television. Yes, we understand that many people say "nothing good is on" and claim to "almost never watch TV." However, because of TV, when catastrophe strikes, we will be prepared. For those of you not familiar with it, "The Walking Dead" follows a group of people who are living through the zombie apocalypse. They battle zombies, face moral dilemmas, and attempt to maintain sanity in a world gone crazy. When the zombie apocalypse happens, Deb and I will have a leg up in survival tactics due to our faithful viewing of this show. 3. We are pleased that Earth is an active planet with plate tectonics. This force plays a vital role in moving around great land masses to help create mountains, slot canyons, valleys and plains. The spectacular geological diversity in southern Utah is partially a result of plate tectonics. Throw in a few million years of wind and water erosion and you have the awesome country we enjoy on our monthly hikes/explorations. 4. Dave the Wonder Cat and Molly the Cat. We thoroughly enjoy their antics and companionship. (We quickly forgive their almost daily "presents" of dead or dying birds, lizards, and insects that they feel a need to display inside the house.) And they in turn appreciate our daily walks, without leashes, in the five-acre field in back of our house and around the 'hood. 5. We are thankful for the Constitution. Although Americans bicker constantly about its true intent and meaning, it does provide a framework for the bickering. Imagine the chaos if we all didn't at least pay lip service to this governing framework. 6. We are thankful for gravity. When I go up for a jump shot I don't keep going into outer space (as if a middle-age white guy could jump very high anyway) because of gravity. Gravity also keeps Dave the Wonder Cat and Molly the Cat from bonking their heads on the ceiling when they jump to the highest platform of their cat condo. 7. "It's all good." Although Internet research shows the phrase has been around for awhile, we only picked up on it this year. We are thankful for the creators of this pithy vernacularism. Our understanding of the meaning — a reality-based optimism — suits us and our lifestyle in southern Utah. We hope you remember the many good things from the past year to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Tom Garrison is retired and lives in St. George with his wife Deb, who helps compose the list each year. Email: tomgarrison98.yahoo.com