Gratitude on the Ground

If you’re like most people, you are most grateful for your family and friends. Health, faith, and “not sure” rank well behind that, while the “United States,” pets, work, personal finances, and “something else” bring up the rear. That is according to a survey of American adults done last year by YouGov. But most people aren’t from Fort Worth, so what are Fort Worthians grateful for? What are you grateful for? Here’s what a few people who live or work in and around Tarrant County said when we asked.

Frederick W. Gooding Jr., associate professor of African American Studies at TCU: “What am I grateful for? Why, the gift of life, of course! This magical and mystical energetic feeling courses through my veins every morning — thus far — and reminds me that despite life’s trials and tribulations, I need not take the gift of life for granted here in the present. For, yes, I agree with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when he sagaciously warned, ‘We’ve got some difficult days ahead’ when it comes to us finding true racial reconciliation, but where there is life, there is hope, and as long as I am alive, so shall live my hope.”

Will Douglas, CEO and artist in residence at the Guitar Studio in Fort Worth: “I am incredibly thankful for my students at the Guitar Studio. When I took it over in 2021, people were so in awe of Michael Dailey, the founder. He’d played with the Grateful Dead and Stevie Nicks. He’d studied with Segovia. He was this huge figure. Here I was, this kid. The students could have just left, but they all stayed. The studio could not happen without those people, and the wonderful Fort Worth community has been awesome. And my wife, Courtney, is one of my business partners. This absolutely could not function without her. She’s an incredible person and does all this while putting up with me.”

Sean Russell, Cut Throat Finches frontman and veteran activist: “I’m thankful for the people in my life that don’t believe the same things I do yet have always shown me respect and can accept my view graciously, even though often in their own lives, people who believe what I believe can’t seem to find it in their holy hearts to graciously give the same gift to others.”

Lauren Wallis, immigration attorney at the Mills Firm in Fort Worth: “Most people will say family. A good response for me is that I’m grateful for the small moments that we get with our family, the small moments in the morning when it’s quiet and we can contemplate and relax for a moment before the day gets crazy. It’s the little moments we have with our family and the little moments we have with ourselves. It gets pretty hectic at work, so you have to take a small moment to get a little bit of peace. I’m not a coffee drinker, so I have a cup of tea. Sometimes you do some affirmations, contemplate on some Bible verses, and get yourself ready for the rest of the day.”

Dana Deatherage, proprietor and pitmaster at Double D BBQ in Bluff Dale: “This year, I’m grateful for many things. I’m blessed to have both my parents still with us and in good health. They’re 80 and 81. Grateful for my wife as she supports me in all the crazy business things I do. Grateful my daughter and son-in-law are carving out a great future together. Grateful for my family and extended family. Grateful my business is still alive and kicking. Grateful for all the artists that have believed in me and gave us the chance to host them at Double D BBQ. Grateful for my Double D BBQ team for giving all they got to the dream we’re chasing.”

Teresa Patterson, manager of TC Paddlesports at Panther Island: “I am most grateful for friends. We had an incredibly stressful move when we lost our land and had to relocate our home, but our friends were there for us, especially Donna Morgan, who gave us — and our 10 cats — a place to live while our home was rebuilt, and Bill and Judy Fawcett, who stood by us as he always does.  I am also grateful every day to be in a city that cares about trees, nature, and the river that runs through it. Far too many municipalities take such things for granted.”

Donna Floyd, founder and executive director of Justin’s Place, a nonprofit empowering single mothers in Fort Worth: “I want to take this opportunity to express how thankful I am for the leadership of our city, Mayor Mattie Parker and our City Council, for their tireless efforts to create a place for not just myself and my family to live and thrive but for the rest of Fort Worth to live and thrive. I’m thankful for their love for creating things and places in our city for people who are in need, such as people who are living in homelessness, especially single mothers. I’m so grateful for their leadership and efforts to make Fort Worth one of the greatest cities in the country. They’re pretty awesome.”