Perhaps only senior citizens will recognize his name and a few millennials might know that he was the father of Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). Other cinephiles might know that he left his wife Debbie Reynolds to marry Elizabeth Taylor, who left him for Richard Burton, but since they’re all dead, who cares? Well, I was ten years old when I heard Eddie Fisher sing “Count Your Blessings” and it’s a lesson that in this crazy world of protests and angst, we should all heed especially in this season of increasing despair.

I interviewed a young Marine who had fought in the 2003 Iraq invasion and was now safe at home and newly married to a friend of my daughter. After hearing some details of his experience, I told him I was gathering a bunch of supplies to send to our troops which I planned to include deodorant and other toiletries. He told me not to do that because their body smell kept the animals away. At first I thought he was joking but I looked in his eyes and I saw an old man, not a 23-year-old.

I think of that look whenever I step into my shower and feel the luxury of that glorious hot spray that so many of the troops would not enjoy until they left the battlefield. Whenever I  turn on the kitchen faucet and cool fresh water pours into my glass, I think how lucky I am. Counting my blessings has been a routine since I was five.