By Attorney General Bob McDonnell
Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving, a holiday born right here in the Commonwealth.
Just about 20 minutes east of my office in Richmond, on the grounds of what is today Berkeley Plantation, a band of English settlers knelt down on December 4, 1619 and gave thanks for their safe passage to the shores of Virginia. After a treacherous journey across the open seas they had landed in a place of beauty and abundance. They stopped, and gave thanks. Our tradition of Thanksgiving was born.
Tomorrow we pause as a nation to give thanks again. We continue a Virginia tradition begun 389 years ago. There is much to be thankful for. We live in the greatest nation on earth. We are free. We are blessed with unlimited opportunity and a wide range of material comforts the likes of which no people on earth have ever possessed. Truly, to live in Virginia, in the year 2008, is to be blessed like no other people at any time in the history of the world.
However, even in this land of abundance and plenty we know many are suffering. Our economy is struggling, and word of yet more layoffs is a daily feature in our newspapers. Today the front page of The Washington Post tells us that food stamp use is nearing an all-time high. We know that even in the most prosperous of societies there will always be those who need a helping hand. Today, the need for a helping hand is spreading to many families and neighborhoods that never thought this could happen to them.
That is why I ask you, as we pause to give thanks, to consider making a donation to Virginia's Food Banks this holiday season. Last year I asked you to do the same, and so many of you responded to that call. You filled the shelves of Food Banks from Salem to Alexandria to Norfolk. Let's do it again. Please visit the Virginia Foodbank website today. If you have a little extra, I hope you will consider sharing it with those who need a little help. Together, we can make this a better Thanksgiving for all Virginians.
Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
Bob
Bob McDonnell
Attorney General of Virginia
Cross-posted at SixtyFour81.com
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