Can we press the pause button – Thanksgiving is almost here!
With COVID-19 cases rapidly on the rise, an election that we think is over, a Senate majority that will hang in the balance until early January – and families poised on the edge with holiday plans also hanging in the balance – is it any wonder that we all seem frazzled? Well, most of us anyway. Most days you may be asking yourself, what is the Governor going to do next? Looking ahead, what will the new President do? Will we have an effective and safe vaccine in place before the end of this year?
The list of questions and things to ponder seems endless, yet here we are a week away from Thanksgiving and there are many things right with the world. We continue to take one day at a time while not getting our hopes up too much about how the rest of this year might look – or might not look. We can complain or we can press the pause button on negativity and be thankful for what we do have.
The Browns look fairly solid, but the Steelers appear to be pretty much unbeatable. Their 9-0 start, a franchise record even for this vaunted team, deserves to be mentioned as we know there are perhaps – perhaps – a dozen or so loyalists among the readers of this column that is known to tilt heavily toward the Buckeyes, Indians and Browns. It is difficult to hide your true feelings. Truth be told I have a good friend in another state that loves the team from the other side of the Ohio River and our annual bet has me decidedly in the losing column. I may never catch up.
The Buckeyes take on the 10th ranked Hoosiers this Saturday, and this is a game that the scarlet and gray should not take for granted. Those are the ones that tend to get you.
Let’s talk turkey. According to the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association (yes, there is such a group), Americans consumed about 46 million turkeys last Thanksgiving. That’s close to being one turkey for every person in Spain. Yes, Spain has that many people. It’s a big country. 88% of Americans eat turkey on the holiday per a survey by – you guessed it – the National Turkey Federation. Yes, there is such a group.
More fun facts. Minnesota raises the most turkeys each year followed by North Carolina then Arkansas. The pilgrims celebrated a bountiful harvest in 1621 and their menu looks a bit different than the menu of today. If you save room for pie (of course!) 57% of us eat pumpkin, 14% have pecan, 9% sweet potato and 20% have another type. And some of us, (hee, hee) have multiple types and pieces that extend well into the new year. Not the same pie! More pie! More pie!
Sarah Josepha Hale spent 36 years trying to convince a sitting President to make Thanksgiving a national holiday – prior to that states observed it on varying dates. It became a national holiday in 1863 and yes, she is also the person that wrote, “Mary Had A Little Lamb.” She was a writer, activist and editor. She also gets credit for getting the Bunker Hill Monument completed.
That’s enough trivia, I’m hungry!
Category: Mark's Musings, Opinion
