A Thanksgiving message of thankfulness

This is a day for all of us to reflect and give thanks. I'm most thankful for the wonderful family that I have including Elena, Luah, Cida Stier, Anna Chagas Matheus Fahel, Pedro, Miguel Torello my sister, Aunt Beverly Walters my Kelly niece and all of the family members of the Walters, Helms, and Patterson families.

I'm thankful to still be a homeowner. I'm thankful that my wonderful medical care detected a possible dangerous growth on my left lung and later found that it was not cancer.

I'm thankful to have wonderful friends like Chris Alexander, William Baldwin, Ananth Narain, Latha Narain, Barbara Assadi, Khossrow Assadi, Mandy Findlater, Monty Heying, Carlos Mendez, J.P. Chimienti, Ariel Toribio,Djenane Santos, John Santos, Scott Davis, Pablo Gallyas Puffe, EddyGallyas, Valentina Gallyas, Elizabeth Farfan Peña, Josie Borain, Sacha Stel, Liliana Pacelli, Anna Silva, Rob Walker, Jeff O'Malley, Haim Feigenbaum, Sara Feigenbaum and Patricia von Klettenhof.

I'm thankful for the incredible legal team of Mike Comfort, Geoff Wiggs, Robert Brooks Martin, Cason Benham and Alan Sherman who have pulled Elena and I through several crisis moments. A thanks also goes to Claud Knoesen who has been my lawyer and friend for 25 years.

I'm thankful for Ed Edward Vinces of Pacifica Computer Pros who keeps our computers going. I thankful to Will Dea and the team at Stewart Chevrolet who keeps our old cars running so well.

Jeri Fink and the team at State Farm Insurance I'm thankful to all of you for the wonderful guidance and service that you've given me over the last 18 years.

I'm thankful to Facebook and Instantcheckmate for reuniting me with many old friends who I had lost touch with for so long.

I'm thankful to wonderful people like Robert Zubrin, Artemis Westenberg, Chris Carberry, Debbie Cohen for raising my thoughts to Mars and the Heavens. I'm thankful to Seth Shostak and the team at Big Picture Science for keeping my mind stimulated and my interest in science keen. I thank the entire team at The Planetary Society, where I have been a member for 20 years for constantly educating me about the sky above and possibilities.

I'm thankful to Life Moves (formerly Inn Visions) and Rebecca Snyders Darr for giving me shelter and hope when I was homeless.

I'm thankful for my spiritual adviser, Pastor Samuel Nandakumar

I'm very humbled on this day. I have survived so many hard times and deadly situations. (I was badly injured and came close to death three times.) I think of my dear friends who died in Vietnam and died later.

And I think of my father, Vasco L. Walters, who left us all in January of 1976. He's up in Heaven watching me. He's proud of me and happy that I've done well (finally).