As bad as the destruction and misery have been from storms which have pounded Florida and other southern states these last two years, their worst effects may be yet to come. If all the lettuce is wiped out, or if the English peas are destroyed, no one will starve, because the essential food sources for the United States are soybean, corn and wheat. Even farm animals are dependent on these basic foods. Now future yields of these major crops are in doubt because of unexpected effects of hurricane Ivan last year and Katrina, Ophelia, Rita and other storms yet to come.

Would you build your own house in a flood zone on ground below sea level? Most would not do this and if they did, they would lack common sense. How about a city? Does it make sense to build and perpetuate a metropolitan area on land below sea level? The question might be—can it be done? Obviously, under optimum conditions it may be done and maintained if massive funding is available. Even then, there is no guarantee that natural forces will not overwhelm man-made systems.

Last winter, one of the most respected atheists and philosophers of our time raised the hackles of committed evolutionists. Eighty-one year old Antony Flew stunned "hard core" atheists by admitting that the genetic structure of all life, DNA, could hardly have evolved on its own.

Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on our blessings, our purpose and our future. How thankful are we? Have we used the blessings God has given us to fulfill our national purpose and mission? Or do we even know our mission?

It's that time of the year when those repeated seasonal refrains about reindeer, mistletoe, holly and little drummer boys bombard us in stores, mall-ways, on radio and TV—along with being hummed, whistled or sung in our ears by just about everyone around us.

One of the favorites, left over from my past life in the frozen wilds of northern Wisconsin goes like this:

Oh, I yust go nuts at Christmas
On that yolly holiday
I'll go in the red like a knucklehead
Cuz I'll squander all my pay.