As Thanksgiving approaches, I like to take a few minutes to reflect on why life here on our Rock is so good and why my life is still going so well. A couple weeks ago, I celebrated my 80th birthday … yes, I am really that old … with a wonderful catered lunch and bar at the beautiful Colonel’s House at Camp Casey.

That’s the Victorian home where the commandant lived when it was Fort Casey for more than 50 years. It was built in1904, just after the Army opened Fort Casey during the Spanish-American War — fearing that the Spanish might send war ships through the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Then during World War I, there was fear that the Germans might do that. And during World War II, there was actual intelligence suggesting that the Japanese had a plan to send submarines through the Strait, set up a base on Whidbey and then invade Seattle. So obviously the various commandants through the years had a lot to worry about in their home at the Fort, with its beautiful view of Admiralty Inlet and the Olympics.

I thought a little bit about all that during my Big 8-0 bash, but what I really enjoyed was having 50 friends and relatives with me at the Colonel’s House wishing me a happy birthday. When I lived in Los Angeles and then Dallas, I doubt I would have been able to get 50 people together in one spot at the same time — traffic’s terrible, kids have soccer practice, church choir rehearsal, called into work, etc. But here on the Rock my 50 friends set aside whatever other obligations they may have had and came to the party. Like I said, life on our Rock is good.

I am also very pleased that we made it through the election with little fuss. We re-elected all our local pols — Rick, Melanie, Jill, Ron, Clyde and Dave, four Democrats and two Republicans — which must mean we are relatively satisfied with how things are going on the Rock. That is opposed to all those millions of folks in America whose votes suggested their lives suck because of the cost of living. And I really like being able to call our local pols by their first names knowing that you dear readers also know them that way.

It’s also great that we Rock dwellers can get most of our food for Thanksgiving locally through places like the Whidbey Island Grown Cooperative, which links us to dozens of small farmers all over the island. You can get turkeys, potatoes, vegetables, bread and pretty much everything else locally grown except maybe cranberries. You can’t say that in Seattle or Los Angeles or Dallas.

During the recent Bomb Cyclone, I saw once again how we Rock dwellers pull together to help each other. I had more than half a dozen people check to see if we had power and if any trees had come down around us. Fortunately, we didn’t lose power or trees. And I, in return, spent time on the phone seeing how others were doing. It’s called community, and we have a great one.

Finally, I am glad that octogenarians like me are not hard to spot on the Rock. We are a significant part of the population. According to the Census Bureau, almost 40% of Island County residents are 60 or older and 5% of us are 80 or older. However, when I’m in church on Sundays or waiting in the cashier line at Safeway or the teller line at the bank, it seems more like at least 50% of us are over 80.

Thanksgiving really is a moment to step back and appreciate how good we’ve got it in this community on this island we call home.

Harry Anderson is a retired journalist who worked for the Los Angeles Times and now lives on Central Whidbey.