Part-time Columnist

Dallas Morning News Column - November 25,2004

What's on Your Plate Today?We serve up more than turkey on Thanksgiving. It's a time for reflection,charity and conversation. It's a time when the things your family valuesmost are served as the main course.

Mahesh ShettyRichardson finance executive, 45

We gather together with family and friends during Thanksgiving to express our gratitude to God. The celebration transcends religious differences and reminds us of the one true essence that pervades all religions. It's also a time for reflection - time to reconnect with our inner selves and reset our moral compass. An occasion to reiterate the timeless values of love,fairness, integrity, community service and hard work that our parents inculcated in us and that we in turn seek to instill in our children. Each generation waxes nostalgic about "the good old days" and laments the ways and values of the next generation. I reject the pessimism because our children are a mirror image, albeit smarter, of ourselves - they observe and absorb our values. Thanksgiving is a time to rejoice in our success at bringing forth a generation which is going to take this society to heights we can only dream of.

posted by Mahesh Shetty @ 10:15 PM