Thanksgiving is probably the only holiday in America when many of us become if just for the day, math majors as we try to compute how many hours how large a turkey needs to be in the oven at how many degrees so that it can feed a houseful of family and friends we've invited to join us for dinner.
And let's not forget how many side dishes and who's bringing what--all important elements on our national Day of Thankfulness.
No matter how rough times have been leading up to this week, and for a lot of us, they sure have been tough, we still make that extra effort as we put a smile on a care-worn face and enjoy the warmth of home and heart.
The smiles have been in short supply. Many of us have seen local businesses fade and then close and neighbors move on and away in search of something more than we have right here, right now. And in those households still here, a lot of us are doing a little more with a little less than we did last year.
Despite what you may think, we are fortunate. When you talk to those who help out at food pantries and kitchens such as Saint Vincent de Paul Place, they'll tell you how the need is again EVEN greater this year than it was last year and we all remember how last year too many were in need of so much.
And while the big headlines on newspaper front pages scream about the legislative Armageddon to come in Washington DC this January, closer to home, many of us whisper and worry about the cost of heating oil and a winter that has yet to arrive.
Ready or not, the holidays are here, and as we gather family and friends closer to celebrate, hopefully in the rush and crush of events we can remember strangers are friends we haven't yet met and light up a life as we give one another hope when we celebrate Thanksgiving.
-bill kenny
-bill kenny
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