Thanksgiving plans

[kphoger]

We're going over to my parents, as usual, but they never told us to bring anything.  We've already done grocery shopping for the week, so hopefully they're not expecting anything...

[PHLBOS]

For me, I will be doing my usual trek to Massachusetts tomorrow night (Tuesday) and returning Sunday night.  The big change for this year (mainly due to my mother's passing last August) is that I'll be spending more of my time at my brother's in Sturbridge rather than my mother's in Marblehead.

Although neither one of them were able to attend last year's Thanksgiving dinner over at my brother's (due to health reasons and/or being shut-ins); this will be the first Thanksgiving that both my parents and my sister-in-law's mother aren't alive.  The only surviving relative from that generation for both our families is my uncle (whom my brother & I reconnected with following his sister's/my mother's death last August) who lives in Wollaston (part of Quincy for those unfamiliar with the area).  He has been invited; whether he'll be able to attend remains to be seen. 

Blatant consumerism such as pre-pre-pre Black Friday "line up at 2 in the morning to get a minimal discount on cheaply made disposable junk" nonsense for Christmas is totally needless at Thanksgiving (one holiday at a time please), especially when you usually can get the same stuff at the same or greater discount a week or two later.

Not to mention the fact that this year's Christmas shopping season is longer than most due to the calendar set-up (i.e. Thanksgiving is early this year).

[jeffandnicole]

Also, people forget that TV stations don't operate themselves.  If you're watching TV, there's hundreds of people working to make sure those shows are on the air.

So, if people are against shopping on Thanksgiving because people should be home with their families, why aren't they the least bit concerned about the people they're watching on TV, or the many people behind the scenes that allow those TV stations to operate on a holiday?  They aren't home with their families either.

Because providing coverage of Thanksgiving events like the Macy's parade and football games actually enhances the holiday for people.  Blatant consumerism such as pre-pre-pre Black Friday "line up at 2 in the morning to get a minimal discount on cheaply made disposable junk" nonsense for Christmas is totally needless at Thanksgiving (one holiday at a time please), especially when you usually can get the same stuff at the same or greater discount a week or two later.

Whatever the excuse, the key point people make is that Thanksgiving is a time to be with family or friends.  If Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister or Child is working, it doesn't matter what they are doing - they are missing out on being with their family and friends. 

Does the concession stand worker at the stadium selling Team #1 foam fingers at the football game, or selling beers and hot dogs, somehow enhance the holiday for people at home, or are the selling cheaply made disposable/edible junk?

There are so many jobs that require people to be away from their families on a holiday, and most of them go unnoticed, and unappreciated.  Besides - you mentioned just a few of the thousands of programs that air amongst hundreds of TV stations around the country.  The number of people that work on the holidays is actually astounding. 

[NWI_Irish96]

Also, people forget that TV stations don't operate themselves.  If you're watching TV, there's hundreds of people working to make sure those shows are on the air.

So, if people are against shopping on Thanksgiving because people should be home with their families, why aren't they the least bit concerned about the people they're watching on TV, or the many people behind the scenes that allow those TV stations to operate on a holiday?  They aren't home with their families either.

Hospitals, EMTs, Law Enforcement, and TV stations are 24/7/365 operations.  Now, you could argue that TV stations don't carry the necessity that the others do, but for people in those businesses, it is a given that someone is going to have to work Thanksgiving and Christmas.  However, in most cases, people don't have to work those days every year.  My wife works at a hospital and she has had to work each of those days about 2 of every five years.  In retail, if your store is open on Thanksgiving you pretty much have to work it every single year if you want to keep your job. 

Now that unemployment is very low, I would think that retail workers have more options and can choose to work for retailers that won't make them work Thanksgiving and I think we will reach a point where not everyone that wants to be open will be able to.  Besides, now that you can buy everything online why bother paying people time and a half when you don't need to?

[roadman]

For me, I will be doing my usual trek to Massachusetts tomorrow night (Tuesday) and returning Sunday night.  The big change for this year (mainly due to my mother's passing last August) is that I'll be spending more of my time at my brother's in Sturbridge rather than my mother's in Marblehead.

Although neither one of them were able to attend last year's Thanksgiving dinner over at my brother's (due to health reasons and/or being shut-ins); this will be the first Thanksgiving that both my parents and my sister-in-law's mother aren't alive.  The only surviving relative from that generation for both our families is my uncle (whom my brother & I reconnected with following his sister's/my mother's death last August) who lives in Wollaston (part of Quincy for those unfamiliar with the area).  He has been invited; whether he'll be able to attend remains to be seen. 

Blatant consumerism such as pre-pre-pre Black Friday "line up at 2 in the morning to get a minimal discount on cheaply made disposable junk" nonsense for Christmas is totally needless at Thanksgiving (one holiday at a time please), especially when you usually can get the same stuff at the same or greater discount a week or two later.

Not to mention the fact that this year's Christmas shopping season is longer than most due to the calendar set-up (i.e. Thanksgiving is early this year).

Back in the day before both Christmas "creep" and the voluntary mass riots known as Black Friday became all the rage, most retail stores - especially small businesses - would close on both Thanksgiving and the day after as well.  When they opened on Saturday, the stores were fully decorated for Christmas.  And somehow, they managed to make just as much, if not more, money by deferring the Christmas shopping season to after Thanksgiving (after all, one holiday at a time), unlike what they do now.

[xcellntbuy]

Enjoy the peace and quiet of my new home for the holidays for the first time.

[rickmastfan67]

I've already had my Thanksgiving dinner, and all of the family is together, so no need to visit family. Time to start Christmas plans.

Why did you have an early thanksgiving?

I wouldn't pester everybody about their personal life, as it's considered extremely rude.  They don't have to explain everything to you about what they do..

I took the liberty of changing this admonition to "admin purple" because it really should have been posted as a directive instead of just a suggestion.

I fixed my original post as well.  Must have been really tired then and just forgot the color tag.

[slorydn1]

I'm working tonight and tomorrow night. My brother will make it up from Florida while I am still at work sometime late Tuesday night and then I'll be on vacation for a week. We'll eat (and eat and eat and eat, and eat some more) while watching the football games on Thursday, then just hang out the rest of the weekend. My wife and I will probably be doing one of our western NC road trips on Monday and then go back to work the following Wednesday Night.

Funny thing about working the holidays, Thanksgiving is one that I have only worked once in my 20+ year career in public safety, it almost always falls when the other rotation is working, and in any event I have enough seniority that I am vacation during that week anyway.

Christmas is always another matter, being fixed to a particular date versus a particular day of the week on the calendar. I have worked 14 of the 20 Christmases from 1997-2016, and I will be getting home from work at 6am on the 25th this year for my regular 2 days off. Technically as far as my agency is concerned I am not working Christmas as my shift starts at 6pm on the 24th, so I'll get holiday pay just for Christmas Eve, not Christmas this year.

[ET21]

Home Thursday, back to work on Friday. Luckily no one really drives trucks on Friday so it'll be a light day. Might bring a book to read

[hbelkins]

I've already had my Thanksgiving dinner, and all of the family is together, so no need to visit family. Time to start Christmas plans.

Why did you have an early thanksgiving?

I wouldn't pester everybody about their personal life, as it's considered extremely rude.  They don't have to explain everything to you about what they do..

I took the liberty of changing this admonition to "admin purple" because it really should have been posted as a directive instead of just a suggestion.

I fixed my original post as well.  Must have been really tired then and just forgot the color tag.

I didn't know you had intended it to be a directive. I thought you were just offering some friendly advice. Although I'm glad you did change it -- some of the subject's posts and comments are a little over-the-top. I guess it's a function of youth and I probably should be glad the Internet wasn't around when I was that age.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Thanksgiving? What is that?

Seriously, this Thursday is just a normal weekday like any other for me.

[kphoger]

Nice pilgrim's hat.

[1995hoo]

If anyone here plans to be driving north through the DC area Tuesday night, consider going around the western side of the Beltway or taking US-301. A hole opened up in the Beltway overpass above Suitland Road in Prince George's County and the emergency repair work is causing major backups–as I type this, the traffic map indicates at least a ten-mile stretch of extremely congested traffic.

[NWI_Irish96]

If anyone here plans to be driving north through the DC area Tuesday night, consider going around the western side of the Beltway or taking US-301. A hole opened up in the Beltway overpass above Suitland Road in Prince George's County and the emergency repair work is causing major backups–as I type this, the traffic map indicates at least a ten-mile stretch of extremely congested traffic.

So if I'm trying to call any co-workers at our office at Silver Hill Rd & Suitland Rd, they might be late today?

[1995hoo]

If anyone here plans to be driving north through the DC area Tuesday night, consider going around the western side of the Beltway or taking US-301. A hole opened up in the Beltway overpass above Suitland Road in Prince George's County and the emergency repair work is causing major backups–as I type this, the traffic map indicates at least a ten-mile stretch of extremely congested traffic.

So if I'm trying to call any co-workers at our office at Silver Hill Rd & Suitland Rd, they might be late today?

The overpass was fixed last night sometime after rush hour ended. They might be late for other reasons, of course. Traffic volumes today tend to be atypical compared to any other day of the year because so many people take the day off to travel.

[Roadgeekteen]

Nice pilgrim's hat.

That's not even close.

[Jmiles32]

Headed up to northern suburbs of Baltimore tomorrow and because of all the said traffic issues around the D.C area, we'll probably end up taking the much more relaxing and enjoyable US-15 north to I-70 east route.

[US71]

Staying home and sleeping in.

[noelbotevera]

Nice pilgrim's hat.

That's not even close.

This is the joke.




This is your head.

[jeffandnicole]

Home Thursday, back to work on Friday. Luckily no one really drives trucks on Friday so it'll be a light day. Might bring a book to read

Black Friday is when I can make it to work in record time.  Light traffic.  The people on the interstate are flying to get to work.  And historically, no police.  I've made my 41 mile commute (37 miles 55/65 highway; 4 miles 25/35 mph roads, no in-between) in 36 minutes on this day several times.  I finally eclipse that with a 35 minute trip last year, which averages 70.2 mph for the entire trip.  The slow roads and traffic lights absolutely kill the average speed, so it's unlikely I'll ever make the trip in 34 minutes.

[ilpt4u]

Riding Amtrak right now, as I post, from Southern IL to Chicagoland

Gonna make 2 round trips -- heading up for Thanksgiving Dinner with friends tomorrow, then back to Southern IL Thursday Night to work Friday and Saturday, then back on Amtrak Saturday Night for Family Thanksgiving Dinner on Sunday, back to Southern IL on Monday

I could make the drive on I-57, but it is a really boring drive...and doing it four times in 6 days would be approaching torture. I could vary the drive, and do US 51 to I-55 once, I-57 once, US 45 once, and IL 1 once...but with the short turn arounds, time is a factor

So much nicer to sit back, relax, drink beer, surf the 'net, and let the Train do the driving =)

[Roadgeekteen]

Happy thanksgiving guys!

[sparker]

Like essentially all of coastal CA, it's going to be a warm one up here (I understand that L.A. will be sweltering!); if it weren't for the fact that (a) it would involve CA 17 , and (b) my GF caught a late-night shift at the hospital, we'd be doing all the preliminary dinner stuff tonight, heading over to the beach in the morning and returning later afternoon for the meal.  But now I'll be doing most of the meal prep while she's still asleep, and our friends will be coming by (traffic permitting) about 4pm for dinner.  Too bad -- really good beach weather doesn't come along all that often up in this area (now that there are plenty of In-N-Out's up here, that's basically the only thing I really miss about SoCal!).  So happy Thanksgiving, board members & guests! 

[hotdogPi]

I'm going to a restaurant in Littleton, MA. I will be traveling on MA 119 for the first time, but not a long enough segment to register it in Travel Mapping.

I find VT/NH/MA 119 to be an interesting route. While many two-state routes exist in New England, and some three-state routes exist that were formerly New England Routes, the only two three-state routes that were not New England Routes are VT/NH/MA 119 (even though its segment in Vermont is so short) and CT/RI/MA 138. In addition, even though it's long, traveling it from end to end is semi-reasonable (although not quite the fastest route), unlike most routes of that length in New England.

I can also add Exit 31 on I-495 to my "exits used" list.

[Max Rockatansky]

For now I guess a short run, I woke up way earlier than expected