Settled upon a mound, the vagabond looked up into the gray sky, his face alight with a smile.  This Thanksgiving Day more than any other, he was indeed thankful.  He had little fare, but it was sufficient, crusty bread, a tin of food, the day's newspaper found between the slats of a bench, and the heat of a fresh-laid fire.  What more could a man want?  After he took a bite of bread, he snapped open the paper.  The front headline glared out from not-quite-white paper.  BILLIONAIRE GIVES UP FORTUNE.  One brow spiked into an arch, and he continued to read with a half-grin and a jocular chuckle.  'Billionaire Horace M. Montgomery gave up his well-earned fortune to a variety of charities as well as well-researched trusts.  He has been honored many times over for this generous gesture toward humanity.  However, one must ask, why?'  'Perhaps,' said the vagabond, scooping up a spoonful of beans, chewing and swallowing.  'He wasn't happy.'  He answered the paper as if the question were directed at him then he continued to read.  'And just where is the reclusive Mister Montgomery?  Some say he has been spotted in Las Vegas.  There is one claim he is on a world tour.  And yet another source said he retired to his country home in Connecticut.  Is this man of such financial wizardry now retired?  Did he keep enough funds to keep himself in caviar and truffles, two of his favorite foods?'  'Eww,' said the weathered man, 'fish eggs.  Personally, I don't care for fish eggs.'  At that moment, a bird flew overhead and squawked.  The transient looked up and laughed.  'Ah, was that a reprimand?  My apologies, for I'm certain you would enjoy fish eggs immensely.  If I ever come across any, I'll save them for you.'  Again he returned to the paper, enjoying his small feast as well as reading about the generous Montgomery.  'Some say the man realized he had spent so much time acquiring wealth he had forgotten how to live.  He appreciated nothing.  He gave thanks for nothing.  In time, the money could not replace a family he never had, nor the knowledge that his friends cared about him rather than his wealth.'  'That could well be,' said the man between mouthfuls of food.  'Again, the question remains twofold,' the vagabond continued to read, 'What would a man used to living a life of luxury, having power at his command and fame part of his everyday path do now that he has nothing?'  'Get on with life?' the man answered with a questioning tone as if wondering if that were the correct response.  'And, finally,' the printed page asked, 'Just where is Horace M. Montgomery this Thanksgiving Day?'  The nomad grinned.  'He is right here eating from my tin.'  And for the first time in a long time, Horace M. Montgomery truly enjoyed his Thanksgiving dinner and the anonymity of his new life, for when you have nothing, even a little is everything.

Author's Statement

We are authors; Cynthia DiSciullo and William Zigmont, the writing team from Newark, Delaware. We have had numerous short stories published; a number were award winning.

As the winks of time propelled seconds into years we conspired to create a yawning window upon a scene of possibilities awash in originality; to unfold the tales of mallards, of tides, of stars, honesty, lies, good, evil, magic, myth, the stretch of the universe, and the nadir of the ocean, all in the spirit of John Clarke's line, "A black swan, a white raven." Impossibility morphed to probability. Conformity morphed to distinction. Colorlessness morphed to vivid. All experienced through lexes splayed like watercolor upon a palette, ultimately engulfing the canvas; imagination expressed.

Maxfield Parrish's Thanksgiving tapped into the bliss we share about being thankful for the small things.

Our efforts have generated three hundred short stories, two novels and a novella. More recent, bonded by our mutual love of Delaware, we have been working on self-publishing a book series: an exciting Delaware-focused collection of stories, facts, and poems. This celebration of our state engenders positive images, moral and ethical messages, uplifting fiction geared for ages six through fifteen.

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