Savage Words: Age has made being thankful so much simpler

Dr. Richard Holm was an internal medicine physician, and a journalist. He was raised in De Smet and wrote a monthly column for newspapers across South Dakota called The Prairie Doc.

It was his mission to provide accurate healthcare information free to the public, especially to people who often have limited access to healthcare professionals.

For years, his Prairie Doc column came across my desk every Thursday. I worked at another newspaper at the time, and we sometimes used Holm’s column. Sometimes we didn’t, but I always read it.

One in particular caught my attention in 2018. Holm was diagnosed with cancer and was faced with his own mortality. He wrote in that column that it’s around age 50 when most human beings begin to think about their mortality. I was 49 when I read it.

And damn, he was right. That column has had a lasting impact on me.

Dr. Holm died in March of 2020. I never met him, but I think he’d be happy to know that a guy in downtown Sioux Falls read and appreciated his column each week.

His mortality column has always stuck with me, and I thought of it often after I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in early 2022. Thankfully, I had successful surgery in April of last year and the cancer was removed without spreading. Still, that entire journey made me pause.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that being thankful for things has gotten a lot simpler.

Wat was important to me 20-30 years ago, I’ve realized simply never really mattered.

Now, I enjoy sitting on the front porch and watching the squirrels and rabbits play. I’m thankful for them every time they rustle through the landscaping.

I’m thankful for walks with my chocolate lab. We used to make two- and three-hour treks almost daily. Now, 13-year-old Molly has slowed. As it goes with most labs, her back hips are almost shot. Our walks are now only around the block at a very, very slow pace. Her days are numbered and I know that, but I’m thankful for that short walk with her every evening.

I’m thankful for the Brandon Valley Journal. In a world where it’s getting increasingly harder to make a living as a journalist, Jill Meier has stayed true to a profession that changes daily. There are a lot of stories in-and-around Brandon, and I’m thankful I’m the guy who gets to help tell them.

Like all of us, I’m thankful for my family. Even though we’re not officially married any longer, I’m thankful that Nancy and I have the relationship that we do and that we were able to raise Isabella together. Because it’s confusing for tax purposes, we’re officially called “domestic partners” with the U.S. Government. Call it what you like, but I’m thankful for it.

I’m thankful that I’ve matured enough and realized that the things that make me the most happy…don’t cost a dime.

Who knew that some squirrels, rabbits, a walk around the block, a few newspaper stories and a domestic partnership with the nicest person I know would make me so happy. 

Twenty years ago, I wouldn’t have realized it. This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful that I do.