Thanks

As 2020 careens to a close, few will be sorry to bid it farewell. Devastating wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and a global pandemic, not to mention America’s divisive presidential election, have been just the highlights.

We approach the Thanksgiving holiday we know we face one unlike any other. Travel plans abandoned, communal meals canceled, families dispersed and in too many cases members mourned.

Perhaps, it is necessary more than ever to be thankful for what we have. Thankfulness is a state of mind as nourishing as any feast. So, let’s all be thankful.

Thankful for my family who support me every day.

Thankful for my friends and neighbors.

Thankful for our servicemen and women who protect us every day.

Thankful for my health and sound mind (I think).

Thankful for my colleagues, who provide entertainment for me every day.

Thankful for the students I serve who demand value every day in their education.

Thankful for living in a country, though flawed, is still second to none.

 

HISTORY 101 - The tradition of celebrating the holiday on Thursday dates back to the early history of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, when post-harvest holidays were celebrated on the weekday regularly set aside as “Lecture Day,” a midweek church meeting where topical sermons were presented. A famous Thanksgiving observance occurred in the autumn of 1621, when Plymouth governor William Bradford invited local Indians to join the Pilgrims in a three-day festival held in gratitude for the bounty of the season.

Thanksgiving became an annual custom throughout New England in the 17th century, and in 1777 the Continental Congress declared the first national American Thanksgiving following the Patriot victory at Saratoga. In 1789, President George Washington became the first president to proclaim a Thanksgiving holiday, when, at the request of Congress, he proclaimed November 26, a Thursday, as a day of national thanksgiving for the U.S. Constitution. However, it was not until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving to officially fall on the last Thursday of November, that the modern holiday was celebrated nationally.

With a few deviations, Lincoln’s precedent was followed annually by every subsequent president–until 1939. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to last Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving Day. Considerable controversy surrounded this deviation, and some Americans refused to honor Roosevelt’s declaration. For the next two years, Roosevelt repeated the unpopular proclamation, but on November 26, 1941, he admitted his mistake and signed a bill into law officially making the fourth Thursday in November the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day.

 

THANKSGIVING MEAL – This year the average Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings including a slice of pumpkin pie is $46.90. A four percent decrease from 2019.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE – Seventy-eight candles on a birthday cake is an achievement in longevity for anyone. On Friday President elect Biden celebrated his birthday. As Mr. Biden and his partygoers prepare to take over the White House (sorry Rudy), here’s a wish for four years of good health.

America’s oldest President to date, Ronald Reagan, was three weeks shy of 78 when he left the Oval Office. The second oldest President, Donald Trump, will be 74 ½ on January 20. From there, the record drops to roughly age 70 for Dwight Eisenhower and Andrew Jackson. Harry Truman and George H.W. Bush departed at not-quite 69.

Mr. Biden’s term won’t expire until he is 82, so he has a special duty to be forthright about his health. But spend a few minutes watching Mr. Biden in 2012 browbeating Pau Ryan during that year’s vice president debate. He was aggressive and confident. In 2020, in the rare times he speaks off the cuff without a teleprompter he looks more tentative.

If Mr. Biden is losing his fastball, not that there would be any shame in it at 78, as the oldest President ever, his cognitive condition will be a frequent source of speculation and he should be transparent. Much better than our current President health disclosures.

 

TURKEY WEEK - The 2020 Thanksgiving Week is upon us, and it’s going to be an unusual one. Aside from the challenge of coping with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Emmy, here is why this will be a holiday unlike any we’ve seen before.

Travel will be much lighter: But far from eliminated. On Friday and Saturday, TSA screened about 42% of the passenger volume for comparable days last year. But they were still two of the busiest days at U.S. airports since the pandemic began.

That happened right after the CDC warned against traveling for Thanksgiving, and Johns Hopkins reported record confirmed Covid cases.

Across all transportation modes, AAA is projecting a roughly 10% decline from last year’s Thanksgiving.

Important note: The CDC isn’t worried about the disease spreading on airplanes as much as people traveling in order to gather in large groups.

The retail calendar gets a makeover: Big-box retailers like Target and Walmart have spaced out their traditional Black Friday deals in order to prevent overcrowding in stores. And, for the first time in years, many retailers will close their brick-and-mortar locations on Thanksgiving to protect the health of employees.

Expect e-commerce sales to go parabolic: Across the Atlantic, they’re breaking even more norms. The French government decided to postpone the shopapalooza in an effort to support small businesses. The rationale:

When the country’s second lockdown began on Oct. 30, smaller stores had to close, sending shoppers to online retailers (mainly Amazon) in droves.

In response to outcry from those small businesses, large retailers agreed to delay their Black Vendredi deals until Dec. 4, provided the government allowed those smaller shops to reopen then.

If you're able to help another family, you may enjoy your meal more if you've been generous. A quick way to help food banks is Feeding America (1 click).

I love the "Find a Food Bank" feature: Put in your state or ZIP, and find an easy way to help your neighbors.

Food banks need donations year-round: Setting a small recurring donation is a great way to help.

 

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Jamie Lee Curtis (62), Ed Harris (70), Bader Apricot Hasse (1), Robin Roberts (60), Shannon Sisk …famous sister-in-law.

 

INTERESTING READ – Time Magazine has an interesting and fun list of the best inventions of 2020. I dig the idea behind Krisp, an app that can mute out all the household noise around you and just highlight your voice during Zoom chats, but I gotta give the top prize to mRNA vaccines.

COLLEGE CHRONICLES – Grinnell College (Grinnell, Iowa) announced this week that it would dedicate $5 million annually for the next five years to removing loans from financial-aid packages and replacing them with grants. While the move stems from a financial review that preceded the onset of Covid-19, the Iowa college is one of the first institutions to directly cite the pandemic as its reason for changing how it delivers financial aid.

Just a day before Grinnell made its announcement, a famous alumnus, the comedian Kumail Nanjiani, chimed in during a Twitter discussion about canceling student debt. “It took me over 10 years to pay back my student loans," Nanjiani, a 2001 Grinnell grad, wrote. "I would be thrilled if fewer people had to live with that stress." That's one hope for the new program, Grinnell's president, Anne F. Harris.

COVID UPDATE - It wasn't long ago that public health experts were pointing to Europe as a warning sign for the U.S. But the U.S. now has a higher per-capita caseload than the EU ever did during its recent surge.

As of Saturday, 15 states had higher per-capita caseloads, averaged over seven days, than the European country with the highest caseload — Luxembourg.

The big picture: Europe's steady rise in coronavirus cases over the last couple of months prompted many countries to bring back lockdowns or other strict behavioral restrictions.

In the U.S., some of the hardest-hit states — like Iowa — are just now adopting mask mandates, and airports over the weekend were packed with people traveling for Thanksgiving.

Cases in the hardest-hit states are starting to trend down, a sign that people are modifying their behavior on their own.

Wear a freaking mask!

 

DRIVING THE WEEK - This Thanksgiving week will certainly be weird but look on the bright side: That awkward conversation with a high school classmate you happened to run into at the local bar has also been canceled.

Thanksgiving: The markets are closed Thursday, and they’ll close at 1pm on Friday. Some things are more important than P/E ratios (but are they?).

Biden’s plans: The first of the president-elect’s Cabinet picks will come on Tuesday, according to his incoming chief of staff.

Earnings: Retailers Gap, Nordstrom, Best Buy, and Dick’s all report Q3 earnings on Tuesday.

Economic data: Wednesday is where the action is. That’s when we’ll check in on the red-hot housing sector with October new home sales, and on the national economy with the second reading of Q3 GDP.

Advisers to President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. are planning for the increasing likelihood that the United States economy is headed for a ‘double-dip’ recession early next year.

They are pushing for Democratic leaders in Congress to reach a quick stimulus deal with Senate Republicans, even if it falls short of the larger package Democrats have been seeking, according to people familiar with the discussions.

 

ON THIS DATE – 1963, if you were alive at the time. You will  never forget where you were and your feeling of shock.

 

SWAMI’S WEEK TOP PICKS –

NFL Football Pick of the Week – Thursday 11/26, 5:20 PM (PDT), NBC: Baltimore Ravens (6-4) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (10-0). A loss to Baltimore could dim their playoff chances, an upset on Turkey Day, Ravens win 24 - 21.  (Season to date 9-2)

College Football Pick of the Week – Saturday 11/28, 3:30 pm (EDT), CBS: A traditional SEC match-up, but will COVID strike this one down? We hope not. #22 Auburn Tigers (5-2) vs. ##1 Alabama AFLACs (7-0). Bama wins in a yawner 42 - 21.  (Season to Date 7-5).

2020 Season to Date (35 – 20)

 

Have a safe and heathy Thanksgiving

 

Next Blog: Transition and Jack Ass of the Month

Until Thursday December 3, 2020 Adios.

Claremont, California

November 23, 2020

#XI-18-424

1,843 words, six-minute read

 

CARTOON OF THE WEEKEND – 2020 Vacation, The New Yorker

 

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RINK RATS THANKSGIVING POLL – Your favorite Thanksgiving activity?

___ Giving Thanks

___ Eating

___ Family Walk

___ Watching the Detroit Lions Lose

___ Binge Watch Holiday Movies

___ All  of the above

___ Other

 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH – "May none but Honest and Wise Men ever rule under This Roof.” ----- President John Adams on the White House State Dining Room’s fireplace

 

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Posted at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010

Our Eleventh Year.

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