THIS HAS BEEN a rough year for most Californians. With Thanksgiving on Thursday, there are some in East County who have to look hard for things in their life to be thankful for. Others see little change from last year in their holiday observance. East County locals talked about this Thanksgiving compared with last year.

Allison Swanson of Discovery Bay said her Thanksgiving is going to be terrible. "I've gotten divorced this year and I had to sell my home. I also needed to have my cat put away. I'm not even sure my kids will be with me this year. But there are some things I am thankful for. I'm healthy, and I have good friends. Also, I'm blessed to have the Lord in my life."

Dorothy Richards of Antioch finds herself in the same boat. "I got divorced this year, so I'm on my own instead of celebrating the holiday with my family," she said. "Last year, I didn't have to work. This year, I'm working two jobs to keep up with the bills. I really have to be careful about my spending."

Wade Rodrigues and Krysta Patterson of Pittsburg truly will be celebrating. "We're going to have a big Thanksgiving. We have a potluck planned with about 25 people. Everyone is bringing something to eat," said Krysta. "It'll be fine, because I've still got a job."

Added Wade: "But we're skipping Christmas presents this year because of the money squeeze. Thanksgiving next year will be even better. Krysta and I are getting married in

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September."

"Our belts are tightened, so there may be a little less food," said Kerry Broughton of Oakley. "But less money really is going to put more of a damper on Christmas. Our Thanksgiving dinner will be close to what we had last year. There'll be 15 at the table with the traditional turkey along with all of the trimmings. We have a lot to be thankful for in having a good life with great kids and friends."

"Finances are a problem," said Janet Lanning of Brentwood. "I'm thankful I still have a job and my health is good, but everything is more expensive than last year. Money simply doesn't go as far. We'll be celebrating with about 12 people with everyone cooking something."

Oakley's Christine Brown echoed those thoughts. "We'll have a good Thanksgiving but maybe a little less food, and I really don't like skimping on food. My daughter lost her job this year. But I have a lot to be thankful for. Although finances are tight, I do have a job, and my husband and I didn't lose our home."

Jose Castro of Antioch also talked about less food. "I was hurt bad by the downturn. They cut my working hours," he said. "Even though the portions of turkey and pumpkin pie will be smaller, no one will come away from the table hungry. We'll have 15 people with my wife and her mother doing all the cooking."

"My family can't afford to be with us this year, which saddens me," Antioch's Melody Gill said. "They can't afford to make the trip. Everything else will be the same. We will have a ham dinner not turkey, the same as we had last year."

Cathie Speakman of Antioch said this year definitely is better than a year ago. "I was alone last year and ate all by myself in a restaurant because I was broke," she said. "This year my finances are much better, and I'm going to Oregon for Thanksgiving to be with my family."

"Thanksgiving last year wasn't much," said Brentwood's Nicole Pierce. "I gave birth to my baby just two days before Thanksgiving. This year will be better in that sense but worse in a different way. My husband was hurt bad by the downturn and my stepfather has just been diagnosed with cancer. Despite that, we know we have much to be thankful for."

Ed Arnow can be reached at BrentwoodBuzz@aol.com.