Singer: Thank you for not kicking me in the teeth when I was down. Thank you for helping me off the ground.

Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC, live on this Thanksgiving Day. Michael Hill, happy Thanksgiving to you. We are certainly thankful for all the information and wisdom you bring us with the newscasts every day. As we continue to sample from songs of Thanksgiving this morning, that was a snippet of a song simply called Thank you, by writer, actor, and songwriter Judith Sloan, who I'm proud to say happens to be my sister-in-law. That's from her musical called It Can Happen Here, a performance of it at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Queens, music by Judith Sloan and Josh Valleau.

The sentiment it expresses at the beginning is a different kind of thank you in a way then in many of the other songs we've been playing today. Thank you for not kicking me in the teeth when I was down, was that first line. Thank you for loving me and for not judging me. Thank somebody, not just for doing something good for the person, but for refraining from doing something bad. Thank you for not kicking me in the teeth when I was down and for not judging me, among the other lines in that song.

With that, we'll open up the phones for a Thanksgiving call-in of thanks to someone in particular, for something they did or refrain from doing this year. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. A call-in of thanks to someone in particular for something they did this year or even something they refrained from doing that would have been bad. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692 or tweet @BrianLehrer.

Did you notice in the various thank you songs that we've been sampling from this morning, which really are most of the ones that you can easily find out there, certainly in pop culture, how personal they tend to be? The Otis Redding song we played before said, "I want to thank you for being so nice. I want to thank you for giving me my pride." That's a unique one, isn't it? I was thinking about that lyric as I was listening to it for the millionth time last night. Thank you for giving me my pride. You wonder who he might have been thanking for that, although the song seemed to be to a certain lover but still, it's a different kind of expression. Thank you for giving me my pride. It could be political too. We won't lock that out. If someone who did something political is who you have gratitude for as top of mind right now.

As your calls are coming in, I'll replay maybe the best gratitude moment on this show from this year. It was the writer A.J. Jacobs, who had previously written a book called Thanks A Thousand: A Gratitude Journey. He's all into gratitude. He was on in September around a New York Times essay that he had, in which he wanted to thank some strangers for basically saving his life when he and his sister were lost on a kayak in the cold waters of Alaska for hours and hours back in 1988.

A.J. Jacobs: At about one in the morning, after hours of paddling, we heard these rowdy campers, the only campers for miles. Thank God, they were up, and a little buzzed, and making enough noise. They rescued us. They paddled out and gave us food and dry clothes and just showed incredible kindness. These are polarized times, and I sometimes have to remind myself that humans have this amazing capacity for kindness. I wanted to write this story about these strangers who saved my life, and my quest to find them and thank them because as you know, I'm very into gratitude.

Brian Lehrer: Very into gratitude. A.J. Jacobs, here in September. Your story doesn't have to be as dramatic as that, but who would like to thank a stranger or someone very close to you for something they did or even something they refrained from doing in 2022? 212-433-WNYC or tweet it @BrianLehrer. We'll take your calls and tweets right after this. It's your Thanksgiving calls of thanks to someone who did something good in particular this year or who refrained from doing something bad.

I will start by thanking the people who make the show besides me who are so creative, and thoughtful, and committed to doing right by you, the listeners, every day. Thank you to Mary Croke, Lisa Allison, Amina Srna, Carl Boisrond, Esperanza Rosenbaum plus Emily Loewinger, and [unintelligible 00:05:04] today, Zach Gottehrer-Cohen who produces our Daily Politics podcast, our interns since September, Trinity Lopez and Brianna Brady, Megan Ryan, the head of live radio, and the people who quietly make it all sound seamless. You don't notice the sound of the show if something doesn't go wrong, and something almost never goes wrong because of our engineers depending on the day, Juliana Fonda, most of the time, Miyan Levenson, Milton Ruiz, Shyam Sundar, Jason Isaac. Today working on Thanksgiving and getting just a little bit of love on the air right now, Matt Morando, at the audio controls. Happy Thanksgiving, Matt. Charlotte in Putnam County, you're on WNYC. Hi, Charlotte. Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Charlotte: Hi. Hi, hi, hi. I want to thank everybody that works on your show and most especially you. You make my life better. I called in to say thank you, after 31 years of sobriety, to my AA group that keeps me sober and we help many people. I will take everything else off the air.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you, Charlotte. Thank you very much. How about Denise in Katonah, you're on WNYC, starting off with a few relatively north country callers. Hi, Denise.

Denise: Hi. Thank you so much. We listen to you and thank you for having me on your show. The people who I wanted to thank are all the people at Sloan Kettering both in New York City and in Westchester County, who basically gave me my life this year. To all of the people, gentlemen, who greet you at the door every time you go for treatments and says God bless you. To the receptionists who are patient and loving no matter how sick you feel, to the nurses who were kind and loving and so patient, and the doctors and the surgeons, I want to thank them all for giving me my life this year because I wouldn't be here making this call if it wasn't for them.

Brian Lehrer: Beautiful expression. Denise, thank you very much. Staying north of the city, Josie in Rockland County, you're on WNYC. Hi, Josie.

Josie: Hi, Brian. Thank you so much for taking my call. I really appreciate it. Thank you for having this show, and for all the people you named who make this show possible in such a seamless and beautiful way. A number of years ago, I experienced an accidental electrocution, which totally damaged me in so many ways. I never thought I'd ever be a person again. You used to take my calls a long time ago. I never thought I'd be able to speak again on the phone without stuttering or missing words. It was like having a stroke basically. What I wanted to say was my twin sister Jackie, who actually spoke earlier to you during the call with the Indigenous woman, and talking about what Thanksgiving means to us, so I share her sentiments exactly about what Thanksgiving means to us. I totally concur.

She's the person who's given me back my life by trying to create happier memories for me so that I have like this bank account of good memories to draw upon to replace the bad memories. I'm just so eternally grateful to my twin sister Jackie, and all the people that she's brought on board to help me become the person that I am today. I'm not the person on the front lines at protests. I don't march in protests. I can't do that. She can. I'm the one behind a woman who helps make the great signs. I'm happy that I have my twin sister and also my terribly funny older brother in my life. I have a good life now. I have a happier life because of her and all of her care and loving [crosstalk]

Brian Lehrer: That is so beautiful Josie, so, so beautiful. I wonder if we've ever had twins calling the same show in different segments before, but it sounds like you're not just physical twins with your sister, you're spiritual twins with your twin sister, and it's so beautiful.

Josie: We are.

Brian Lehrer: Josie, thank you.

Josie: Yes, we are. You know what? We've been listening to your show as long as we can remember and I'm grateful to you, and all [unintelligible 00:09:51]. Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Please keep calling us. All right. We've done a few north of the city. We're going to do one a little bit south of the city.

Brian Lehrer: Doroteya in Atlanta. You're on WNYC. Hi, Doroteya.

Doroteya: Hello, Brian. It's so nice to hear your voice again. I've got two and I'll be very brief expressions of gratitude, one to you and your staff for being there all throughout our campaigns here in Georgia. While you've done a great job reporting and informing all of us, but also for being there on Thanksgiving. Secondarily, I'd like to thank my community as a marketing strategist and consultant. My business really took a hit in 2020, and as you know Brian, I've been on your show before. I lost a lot of family members to Coronavirus in France and Italy, and unfortunately was grieving and going through all of that. It was my community that stepped up, especially my partner as well as my niece, Letitia, to really support me and get me through that time. I'm now on the path to success, so I couldn't be more grateful.

Brian Lehrer: Fabulous, Doroteya. Thank you for calling us again. Tiffany in The Bronx, you're on WNYC. Hi Tiffany.

Tiffany: Hi Brian. Longtime listener, second-time caller. I called into your show a few months ago about the homelessness topic here in New York City and I just want to give my gratitude today to my mother for her support. Like your song, nonjudgments over the last year, I've been homeless for over a year now, in and out of the shelter system. I'm in a shelter right now, and I'm happy to say today I'm thankful for, two days ago, I got a housing voucher, I'll be moving out.

Brian Lehrer: That's something to be thankful for.

Tiffany: Fantastic. Yes, very, very thankful. Like your caller said, my mother's 30 years sober. She's a huge inspiration to me and I'm very grateful this season.

Brian Lehrer: Tiffany, thank you very much and I hope you get a great place to live with that housing voucher. Thank you for sharing that great news with us, Chris in Wantage, you're on WNYC. Hi Chris. Happy Thanksgiving.

Chris: Oh, hi. Hello.

Brian Lehrer: Hello. Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Chris: You got me?

Brian Lehrer: Yes, you got me.

Chris: Happy Thanksgiving to you. I have a very weird thanks. I think a lot of people have been thanking people. I work at a Zoo and I work with about 500 animals, and I want to thank them for the time that I've worked here. They've come to trust me, I work with bears and tigers and buffalo, and they know how I feel when I come in. If I'm tired or really upset, the lemur will jump on my back. I'm really thankful that I get to work with all these animals that have come to embrace me.

Brian Lehrer: That is so great. That is so wonderful.

Chris: Yes. I know they're awesome.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you. I think you gave one little example there of a lemur who would jump on your back if you weren't feeling great. You think there's the lemur senses that and is jumping on your back to give you a little massage and say, "I'm with you, dude."

Chris: Little support. 100%.

Brian Lehrer: Any other example?

Chris: Yes. The tigers will run around when I come in, but if they sense that I'm feeling tired, they'll sit down and lay down next to me and just [unintelligible 00:13:30]. It's a pretty-- the animals are very intuitive and they give me support.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you, Chris.

Chris: I have a great family and everything else too, and they give me support, but it's nice to have support with different species.

Brian Lehrer: Cross-species lines. Chris, thank you very much. As we're taking some calls of who you want to thank for something in particular in 2022, I guess of any species, or who you want to even thank for refraining from doing something bad. Liron, am I saying your name right? In Long Island City, you're on WNYC. Happy Thanksgiving.

Liron: Happy Thanksgiving to you, Brian. First, I just want to be thankful for you. I've been in New York since 1988 and I believe I've been listening to your show from its beginning. Thank you, Brian, for being you and for bringing so many people together.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you.

Liron: You're welcome. I wanted to thank my ex, the mother of my daughter who's 25 this year. To say that it was acrimony on both sides when we split apart is not being overstated, but we grew to a place where I think my stepping away from the marriage was less important than our daughter's happiness. We really came together over the past decade or so and have been, I believe, at least my daughter says really great parents. Even today I'll be going over to my ex's house, having Thanksgiving with her and my daughter and my daughter's boyfriend. Just wanted to say thank you to her. Thank you to you, Brian.

Brian Lehrer: Funny enough, you're the second call that we've had in the last few weeks who wanted to bring up a very amicable divorce. I don't know how rare it is, never ever gone through that, amicable or otherwise, luckily, never having gone through that but the--

Liron: From what I hear, it's not very often. [laughs]

Brian Lehrer: That's my point. You're probably part of a very small club. You and that other caller who would give thanks for your ex on Thanksgiving or may, or maybe that's an unfair assumption, but that's--

Liron: I hope so. I really do. [laughs] I don't have scientific data.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you for saying it out loud for sure. Well, we had one caller from Atlanta. Now we have another caller from Atlanta. Janelle in Atlanta. You're on WNYC. Happy Thanksgiving, Janelle, and hello from New York.

Janelle: Happy Thanksgiving to you, Brian, and a blessed day of remembrance to all of our indigenous brothers and sisters. First-time call, a long-time listener, thankful for you, Brian, in all the ways that you share information across our city and our world. I am originally from Brooklyn, but I am a transplant to Atlanta. Just wanted to give a shout-out to my mom, July Calendar in Brooklyn. She has helped me through three difficult pregnancies. The first ended in a stillbirth but now I have two amazing sons. Given several lifetimes, I wouldn't be able to thank her enough or repay her for all the love and support she's given me over the years. Just wanted to thank her for that.

Brian Lehrer: Beautiful, Janelle, thank you very much. Susan and Chelsea, you're on WNYC. Hi Susan, happy Thanksgiving to you.

Susan: Hi, Brian. Thanks to you and happy Thanksgiving. I'm calling to thank Jean and Mike. In August 2020, I lost my beloved boyfriend Don, and after he died, Mike and Jean took me into their home. All through that first dark COVID winter, they kept me warm and cozy and with a feeling of family and love that got me through and not only got me through but just was really lovely. I just want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Brian Lehrer: Susan, thank you very much. Another reason along with a few other calls that I'm going to read. This tweet that came in from a listener named Emily who writes, "Not be over here, bawling, crying, listening to Brian Lehrer while I'm trying to make green bean casserole. Thank you." Somebody else writes, "Thank you to family friend Rose for helping me through a really tough time in Japan, keeping me from giving up." Somebody else writes, "I want to thank my friends, Jackie and Al De Patty and Thomas for helping me empty my kitchen in office in preparation for a renovation. I live alone and I'm old. It seemed daunting. I couldn't have done it without them." Those are some coming in on Twitter, Robert in Valley Stream. You're on WNYC. Hi Robert. Happy Thanksgiving.

Robert: Happy Thanksgiving, Brian. Thankful for Social Security, Medicare, DC 37, and Communication Workers of America collective bargaining for helping me and my wife, [unintelligible 00:19:12], my miracle, to continue to have a sustainable retirement.

Brian Lehrer: That is cool. Thanking the institutions, the union for collective bargaining as well as not taking for granted Social security and Medicare, Very, very cool as we are in a political moment that I'm not going to dwell on where some of that is being called into question. Let's see. Alan in Brooklyn might have the weirdest story in this collection. I think. Alan, you're on WNYC. Hello.

Alan: Hi Brian. Thank you for taking my call. You've asked people if they had experiences with someone who let them be you and in ninth grade I didn't want to wear pants to school, it was hot. In that time period, which was in the late 1960s, you had to. I wore shorts to school, they sent me home, and my mother wrote a note who was a school teacher, and said, "I don't agree with everything Alan does, but I want to support him in his choice because this is important to him." That was telling me it was okay to act on what I believed in. I have done it ever since. I thank my mom. [chuckles]

Brian Lehrer: Very nice. John in Brooklyn is going to thank-- We're going to take two who are going to thank strangers, and then we'll wrap it up. We have a whole other Thanksgiving call-in to do. [unintelligible 00:20:42] hear what this one is. John in Brooklyn, you're on WNYC. Hi there. Who do you want to thank?

John: Hi. I want to thank a paramedic who saved my life. It was quite a few years ago, not this year. I lost consciousness in my bathroom. I was bleeding out. He came up. Well, my wife first, Lin, I should also thank for hearing my moans from the bathroom. A paramedic came up and stabilized my blood pressure and breathing, took me to the hospital, and I was revived. I'm always very grateful to this man whose name I will never know, but I know he was wearing a yarmulke, so he was a religious Jew.

Brian Lehrer: John, thank you very much. Beautiful expression. Who knows, maybe he's listening and recognizes the story. Last one, Susan in Ulster County. We started way north of the city, and we're going to finish there. Susan, you're on WNYC. Hi there. You also want to thank a stranger, don't you?

Susan: Hi, Yes, also a stranger. Can you hear me?

Brian Lehrer: Yes.

Susan: This is my first time doing this. I have to thank you, Brian. I am a frequent, frequent listener. In this case, I am a recent widow. My husband passed in March, and my dog was slated to follow him. She was dying and was terrified of being in the car. I knew that the worst thing I could do was drive her to the vet to put her down. I decided to have a grave dug on my property. I put out the call figuring I'd have to pay somebody. A neighbor, who lives maybe two miles away-- This was on a little social network thing called Nextdoor. Your community will probably know of it. Communities have their own things, like Facebook but neighbors.

This guy, Steve, replied and said, "I want to do this for you." He refused to take any money. He came and dug a beautiful grave with the most beautiful backhoe I've ever seen. I never knew that a backhoe could be beautiful. It was gleaming red. He dug it, and because it was a high water table, it filled with water. He came and pumped it out and re-dug it.

After my dog was put down, he carried her out in a white tarp, I'd bought it at the hardware store, and laid her in gently, and made the most beautiful grave [chuckles] I have ever seen. Usually, we don't even look as these things are being done. It made me be able to handle the passing of my dog, and it gave me great joy because I'm in an area where people are politically at each other's throats, and I knew that Steve and I were on-

Brian Lehrer: Yes, Ulster County.

Susan: -opposite sides of things. Yes, we're a very small part of the United States where we're checkered. We live next door to each other on different sides of the fence.

Brian Lehrer: We covered a hot congressional race there during the campaign.

Susan: The Pat Ryan-- Yes. We studiously--

Brian Lehrer: He's going to be on, on Monday. I couldn't resist the promo but go ahead.

Susan: [chuckles] Anyway, Steve and I, we probably knew that we were not on the same side. I'm a New Yorker, born and bred, he had never been to New York City, he'd never been in a plane or a train. I wanted to say, "I'll take you to New York. I'll show you around." I knew we're separated by a gulf, and we came together at this moment. He refused to take any pay.

Brian Lehrer: Around the death of your dog.

Susan: I just feel he got me through a very, very tough moment. Yes.

Brian Lehrer: Susan, thank you. Thank you very much. I have a feeling this wasn't such an easy call to make, but I'm really glad you got to say all that out loud. Thank you.

Susan: Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: Reinforcing or, I guess, being the last example of what turned out to be a theme in this call-in of Thanksgiving to individuals, so many people thanking caregivers. From that call, thanking that stranger and the person before her thanking a stranger to the person who called in and thanked the staff at Sloan Kettering and the person who thanked her twin sister and so many. Thanking caregivers in this Thanksgiving call-in and you never know what you're going to get. We got that, and it was absolutely beautiful.

I will add a little quota on a slightly lighter note because one caller who was hanging on a long time got disconnected somehow but tweeted the thank-you that she was going to shout out on air. This says, from listener Elaine, "I do want to thank Raymond Chin, a.k.a. Big Ray, for organizing the board game socials at Bryant Park all summer and for introducing me to a lovely bunch of people that I continue to play board games with at least weekly." There you go. Thanks to all of you for your calls and tweets of Thanksgiving.

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