When Mark Twain was at the peak of his writing career, it is said that his magazine and journal articles were worth $5 a word--a great sum of money in those days. One enterprising Harvard graduate student sent Mark Twain a letter:

"Dear Mr. Twain:

Enclosed please find $5. Please send me your best word."

A few days later, the student received a telegram with this single word response: "Thanks!"

"Thanks" may be the most valuable word in any language. It is certainly the word that dominates our thinking during this brief Thanksgiving season. I say brief because the financial pressures which have kidnapped Christmas and turned it into a buying binge have run over Thanksgiving with the force of an 18-wheeler. The only creatures helped in the process are the turkeys.

Thanksgiving, like beauty, i…