DEAR EDITOR:

Sometimes, staying in bed seems the superior choice to getting up. Getting a cup of coffee and watching the news often confirms the choice. War, starvation, poverty, murder, overwrought political outrage and the foolish conspiracy du jour can leave you world-weary.

I have to tell myself, “Now, wait a minute.” I rise from a comfy bed, in a pleasant clean house, food and drink are steps away. I have a choice of things to do today, and I’m healthy and wealthy enough to do them. All of which makes me well off compared to many of my fellow citizens, not to mention the majority of the people on this earth. I’m blue? How dare I be?

So, I tell my electronic friend, “Alexa, play Ray Charles’ ‘America the Beautiful.'” Every time, this moves me nearly to tears of gratitude; you can hear Ray’s passionate love of God and country in his voice. Still, not yet up where I should feel — “Alexa, play James Brown’s ‘Living in America.'” That does it. I’m up and all seven-decades-plus of wear and tear fall away. I think I may yet take that “… super highway, coast to coast …” as I dance like God, in his mercy, tells me I should keep inside my home even as I proclaim “Ow, I feel good.”

If you’re blue, throw in some red and white and think where you are. You’re tired, but you got out of bed. Think about how fortunate you are and dance like nobody’s looking. You’re living in America where you can vote, peacefully voice your opinion, worship as you believe, read what you want, travel as you please and you deserve to be as healthy as you can and to get help with that. Anyone who says you can’t is lying for some ill-considered advantage of their own, and if they knock you down, get on up.

God truly has “shed his grace on thee.” We must acknowledge that, cherish that and keep that because we’re living in America.

JIM CARTWRIGHT

Canfield