As we sit down to our annual Thanksgiving feast, we here at The Times would like to go around the table and offer a few morsels of gratitude before we pick up our forks and dig in. Even in a year that has endured its share of challenges and difficulties — from incidents of violence against innocent civilians and police officers, to civil unrest, to drought and wildfires, to an election divide that never seems to heal — we can put it all into perspective when it’s time to gather and count our blessings rather than our sorrows. So as we do each Thanksgiving, the newsroom staff would like to offer our personal thanks for the bounty of our lives, which includes ... • A fresh start, amazing new experiences and many new friends. • The homeless in Gainesville who have taught us what compassion, gratitude and service to others really means. • Friends who know exactly how to make you laugh no matter how tired, frustrated or heartbroken you are. • Those rain clouds we see on the horizon coming to end our drought.