Letter: Signs of Thanksgiving

I’ve been thinking a lot about thanksgiving since coming home from the Caldor Fire evacuation. Driving down the West Shore after dark September 10, I wondered what I would see in the morning. I noticed mostly fire and law enforcement vehicles, and most businesses were shuttered. What would I see in daylight? Would there be ugly fire scars on the hills, bears in my kitchen, smoke stink in my closets?

But when I saw the huge, blow-up, bear decoration at the corner of Al Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Boulevards with a massive “THANK YOU” sign, I got the first inkling of something else. The next day, this feeling continued as I saw sign after sign around town that said: “thank you.”

As the weeks went on and folks returned home, signs popped up everywhere. There were small handmade signs with children’s scrawls. There were huge, printed signs on canvas banners. There were signs up high, signs down low, on houses, storefronts, along every street and road. Some had toy fire trucks hanging from them. Some had spotlights on them at night.

Every sign said "thank you" to the people who saved South Lake Tahoe. Thank you for being heroes. Thank you for doing your job against the odds, for working together, working hard, being patient and brave, tolerating hardship. Thank you for welcoming us back to our homes, businesses, and schools. Thank you.

I want to offer up how amazing it is to live in a place chockfull of gratitude. Now I want to make it a habit. Instead of division, we could all focus on the messages that bind us together – and make this life so well worth living.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Annie Davidson