Good work, out there; you know who you are.

Byline: Bob Welch / The Register-Guard

I know I'm supposed to be thinking about turkeys and football and pilgrims, but this Thanksgiving, instead, brings thoughts of the angel of Shooters Pub & Grill. And others like her.

When giving thanks, we sometimes dwell only on the obvious things. The big things: Freedom, family, food and, of course, football.

I'm all for that. But we'd be remiss to not look into our community's nooks and crannies for the more obscure reasons to give thanks. Which, naturally, takes me to Shooters and a woman named Kayleen Johnston.

I wrote about her last February. How she volunteered to donate a kidney to Jeanne Morgan, the wife of a customer. How a doctor told her she had too much protein in her blood to be a good donor. How she said, fine, let's get rid of the protein; this woman's life depends on it.

How she gave up smoking, drinking and taking prescription drugs to get her blood in order. How she waited on her when Morgan developed heart trouble and the transplant was postponed. How, last fall, she allowed doctors to crack her ribs to get to that kidney and do the transplant. And how, for all this, the $8-an-hour barmaid gave up six months' work.

I give thanks for the Kayleen Johnstons of the world, the people who would put their lives on the line for total strangers.

People who live other-oriented lives, sometimes even when facing death themselves. Consider Kathy Alden, the Springfield woman dying of leukemia who, while literally on her death bed, helped spearhead a "Last Wish" fund to raise money for a fellow chemo patient she had befriended.

I give thanks for all the people who live with that same attitude, even if lives aren't at stake: those of you who give money, raise money, swing hammers and pray for those in need.

And for parents who love their kids even when they're unlovable and for children who do the same in regard to their parents.

I give thanks for the folks who, just being who you are, enliven the world. Like the well-dressed father sitting next to his spiked-lime-green-haired son in the waiting room at Dr. Kraig Jacobson's office Oct. 27. I was stressed that morning but you made me smile - and wish I'd had a camera.

I give thanks for teachers too busy helping kids to have time to read all the "teachers-are-overpaid" letters to the editor; the nurses who, each day, work ground zero of family tragedies; and the police/fire/EMT folks whose daily heroics rarely make the 5:30 news.

I give thanks to Oregon's offensive linemen - Max Unger, Josh Tschirgi, Enoka Lucas, Palauni Ma Sun and Geoff Schwartz - who make the blocks that allow touchdowns to be scored but rarely make the end zone celebrations. And for people who rake their leaves.

I give thanks for people who love their country so much they'll die for it, who demand the highest ideals of its leaders and who live those ideals in their daily lives. People who do the right thing, whether it's not running a red light or not looking down on someone who's different from them.

And for a wife's patience, a mother's support - win or lose - and a grandson's smile, the absolute highlight of my year. Period.

I give thanks for readers who, learning of Kayleen Johnston's sacrifice, sent her money to honor her. She plans to use the $6,500 to go to school in hopes of becoming a nurse's assistant, completing a full circle of giving that embodies the best of the word "community."

Finally, I give thanks to the woman who sent Johnston a carved angel. It sits on top of Johnston's stereo, reminding her - reminding us all - that, for all its pain and disappointment, there is goodness in the world.

Indeed, in the least expected places, far from the limelight, angels dwell among us.

Bob Welch can be reached at 338-2354 or at [e-mail].