A recurring segment on The Tonight Show, popular with viewers and on YouTube, is Jimmy Fallon’s “Thank-you notes.” Rather than writing out sincere notes of gratitude, the joke is that the host writes to random things or concepts—stuff that is ordinary or not obviously worthy of praise, with a “thank you” message that reveals something silly or comical about that which is being thanked. Here’s an example of his thank-you notes from this time last year.
Play the following video [3:48; start at 0:32; stop at 1:55].
Thank You Notes: KFC’s Beyond Fried Chicken, Quirky Welcome Mats | The Tonight Show
These joke thank-yous are written in a style we understand. Sarcastic thank-yous are a common way to express oneself today, particularly for comic relief. Other types of thank-yous include the sincere and the unspoken. Which of these is most common—which has the biggest impact?
- When was the last time you sarcastically thanked someone or thing? (Answers will vary. Encourage students to consider how easily thanks can roll off the tongue when it is tongue-in-cheek.)
- When was the last time you sincerely thanked someone? (Answers will vary. Encourage students to tell what the gift or gesture was that prompted their expression of thanks.)
- Can you think of any times recently when you’ve forgotten to or should’ve said thank you and did not? (Answers will vary. Ask whether students realized right away that they should have said something, or if it took time or someone else’s prompting.)
- What keeps you from expressing thankfulness? (Accept all reasonable answers. For example, it can feel awkward or require some effort. On a deeper level, we may see the bad all around us and forget to look for the good. Other times, we are blinded by our blessings to the point that we feel entitled rather than thankful.)
All of us have much to be thankful for, though we sometimes need the reminder—or prompting—to express it. Today’s story challenges us to consider our attitudes and expectations and how we respond to God’s gifts, as we learn from one lone man’s expression of thanksgiving.
