Who is working Thanksgiving 2013?

[PHLBOS]

I'm off on Thanksgiving (paid holiday), but I'll be working on Wednesday and Friday.  Besides the fact I'd have to charge vacation time if I wanted to take Friday off, I actually prefer to work the day after Thanksgiving, as the office is quiet and I'm able to get caught up on things I normally wouldn't be able to get to.

I have similar at where I work; but since I head up to Massachusetts every year for Thanksgiving (since all my family is up there), I have to eat the Wednesday before and the Friday after as vacation days.

With regards to retail stores being open on Thanksgiving itself; thankfully, that won't happen in MA courtesy of a remnant of the old Blue Laws that are still in effect in the Bay State.  No retail store can open until after 12:01 AM Black Friday.

[tchafe1978]

I work in retail, and I'm working 2PM-11PM on Thanksgiving. Not looking forward to dealing with the "Gray Thursday" crowds as our sales times have been moved up yet again. Last year, we had sales at 8PM and 10 PM on Thursday, and 5AM on Friday. This year the sales are at 6PM and 8PM on Thursday and 8AM on Friday. I realize It was my choice to work in retail, but that doesn't mean it sucks any less. I miss the days when out store closed on Wednesday evening and reopened at 5AM on Friday for the big event. About the only positive to it now, is you can have the customers mingling around the store all day and night next to their wanted items, vs. having a big rush of people trying to break down the front door and trample the workers opening the doors. Now, our store is open 24 hours, and the only day all year we close is Christmas. The joke going around work is it will only be a matter of time before we're open on Christmas too, as the closing time on Christmas Eve keeps getting pushed back. For years, it was 6PM, then last year it was 8PM, now this year it's 9PM.

[roadman65]

You are right about Christmas.  I have seen it happen in the resort industry where Christmas Day was open for a limited schedule in the restaurant (you have to feed the guests) and now its like any other day.  Even Steak and Ale (before going out of business) was closed on Christmas Day back in the 80s, but in the 90s they started to advertise how they were being open on Christmas.

Now this could be a tourist thing as Clark, NJ where I worked there was not a tourist town, but Kissimmee, FL is where I did see the ad.  I think now that political correctness is taking place, you are going to see Christmas be just a religious holiday and not so much secular as for years even atheists did not care about its meaning, but loved the extra day off for work and was regarded for that. 

[froggie]

Working from 7am Thanksgiving Day until 7am on Friday the 29th at my firehouse.

I hope DC stays quiet. Being my firehouse is 3 blocks from the Capitol, and surrounded by office buildings that should be closed for the holiday, it should.

Until some idiot in Near Northeast or NoMa sets their turkey on fire and panics...

A fellow sailor down here does weekends at one of the Anne Arundel County firestations.  He's cooking Thanksgiving dinner at the station tomorrow.

[US81]

Working from 7am Thanksgiving Day until 7am on Friday the 29th at my firehouse.

I hope DC stays quiet. Being my firehouse is 3 blocks from the Capitol, and surrounded by office buildings that should be closed for the holiday, it should.

Oh, noes! You said the "q-word"!  Superstitious FFs, EMTs and LEOs everywhere are now cursing! 

Hope you have a good shift.

[Scott5114]

I think now that political correctness is taking place, you are going to see Christmas be just a religious holiday and not so much secular as for years even atheists did not care about its meaning, but loved the extra day off for work and was regarded for that. 

It's no such thing. It's pure greed, chasing after the few dollars that might be made by being open when your competitor is not.  And since businesses are open, people have to work. And then more businesses stay open to compete with the ones that are already open so as to not fall behind. And then nobody has the holiday off anymore.

[ZLoth]

Wasn't it during Dicken's time when Christmas was just another day and they had little time for Christmas?

BTW: I'm at work right now. Slow night.

[bugo]

I'm an assistant manager at a local convenience store.

Do you ever find interesting coins at work?  I find them all the time.  I've found scores of wheat pennies and pre-1960 Jefferson nickels, 2 1943 steel pennies, a 1912 "V" nickel, 2 1942 35% silver war nickels, a buffalo nickel with the date worn off, over 30 silver Roosevelt dimes, a 1964 silver quarter, a 40% silver bicentennial quarter, 3 silver Franklin half dollars from '52 and '53, a dozen or more 1965-1969 40% silver half dollars, a series 1957A $1 silver certificate, and an 1861 (!) British half penny.  I've also found many foreign coins, some pre-1996 $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills, many $2 bills (I saved the nicest ones), many post-1970 half dollars, several 1979 and 1 1980 SBD coins, a half dozen or more Eisenhower dollars, and many other old and interesting coins.

[bugo]

Yes, I will be working from 5PM to 5AM at Walmart.

You have my deepest sympathy.

+2

[bugo]

Now this could be a tourist thing as Clark, NJ where I worked there was not a tourist town, but Kissimmee, FL is where I did see the ad.  I think now that political correctness is taking place, you are going to see Christmas be just a religious holiday and not so much secular as for years even atheists did not care about its meaning, but loved the extra day off for work and was regarded for that. 

Christmas is mostly a secular holiday and has been so for many years.  Most atheists I know do indeed celebrate it, but as a non-religious holiday.  Some of them celebrate the winter solstice instead.  Don't forget that many Christmas traditions were ripped off from other religions, namely paganism.  Don't stereotype non-believers as Christmas haters.

[bugo]

I have most of the day off but I have to go in at 10 Thursday night.  Since my family is 3 hours away in Arkansas, I don't mind working because I won't be able to celebrate the holiday anyway.

[signalman]

Do you ever find interesting coins at work? 

Oh yes.  I've purchased a lot of nice coins and bills out of circulation over the years.  I don't see nearly as many silver coins as I've seen you claim to find in this topic and other threads.  However, crisp old bills ( silver certificates and pre-1996) are quite common.  I have one each of the pre-1996 denominations, as well as tons of silver certificates and $2 bills.  As far as coins go, I'm not really that interested in them.  I'll pull silver coins out of circulation, but like I said, I rarely come across them.  I do collect the presidential dollars and state/US posession and now national park quarters.  Since the presidential dollars are no longer circulated, I guess I'll have to buy uncirculated ones from the mint if I want to continue my collection.  I also have some wheat pennies and steel pennies that I obtained as a kid. 

As for the topic at hand...
Today is just another Thursday for me.  It's already a paid holiday for me, plus I get time and a half for my hours worked.  So it works out to be double time and a half.  Not bad for a generally slow morning.  Early on I get the chance to get work done that I normally don't have enough time for without being interrupted every 5 minutes.  Plus I have time to talk with the regulars who pop in and are cool.  If history repeats itself, business is just starting to pick up late morning when my day is almost over.  I work the early morning shift, 4:30am-1pm.  I have plenty of time to get home to shower and change and still make it for a 3pm dinner.  Dinner is just a short drive to my dad and step mom's who only live about 15 mins from me.  So in short, for me it's a good day to make money and it's a fair trade for me so that I can have Christmas off.

[bugo]

Do you ever find interesting coins at work? 

Oh yes.  I've purchased a lot of nice coins and bills out of circulation over the years.  I don't see nearly as many silver coins as I've seen you claim to find in this topic and other threads. 

Claim to find?  I don't lie about the coins I find.  I have no reason to.  I have pictures of many of them located at http://s167.photobucket.com/user/bugo348/library/?sort=3&page=1 if you want to take a look at them.

[Takumi]

Been at work since 6AM eastern. So far it's been pretty dead. Thanks to working until 10 last night, I'm trying not to fall asleep.

And on the subject of silver coins, I got $6 worth of silver quarters (mostly early 60s) at work Monday.

[roadman65]

Now this could be a tourist thing as Clark, NJ where I worked there was not a tourist town, but Kissimmee, FL is where I did see the ad.  I think now that political correctness is taking place, you are going to see Christmas be just a religious holiday and not so much secular as for years even atheists did not care about its meaning, but loved the extra day off for work and was regarded for that. 

Christmas is mostly a secular holiday and has been so for many years.  Most atheists I know do indeed celebrate it, but as a non-religious holiday.  Some of them celebrate the winter solstice instead.  Don't forget that many Christmas traditions were ripped off from other religions, namely paganism.  Don't stereotype non-believers as Christmas haters.

I did not stereotype non Christians as Christmas haters!  If you read the line, I said quite the opposite and stated that these non believers even celebrate the holiday also!  It's the business owners that I was referring to that have forgotten that it is holiday for everyone and the fact that political correctness has effected even us believers as well taking us away from this holiday that has been around for years!  It is politics of the people that is the culprit and not any specific religious or non religious group if you read it carefully!

[english si]

Wasn't it during Dicken's time when Christmas was just another day and they had little time for Christmas?

Christmas Eve, maybe, but Christmas Day was a holiday. In a Christmas Carol, Scrooge tries to get Bob Cratchett to work Christmas Day, and Bob objects. You are meant to see how mean Scrooge is by his action, not that Bob is trying to get a day off that he isn't entitled to.

The Interregnum, however, has the "Cromwell banned Christmas" myth - he just stopped it being a holiday, and CofE churches couldn't hold special services. You could have gone to a dissenting church (something that you couldn't do under Charles II), and your boss could give you the day off. You certainly could have had a big family meal, presents, etc.

Don't forget that many Christmas traditions were ripped off from other religions, namely paganism.

A lot of these traditions and mythologies are 19th and 20th Century and secular. Santa being red, having a reindeer called Rudolph. Turkey and tinsel. Beginning before the 24th (and the recent tradition of beginning before Advent) and ending before the 6th. Robins, cards, etc. All secular, all recent.

Most of the religious ones are of Christian origin, that got ripped off by paganism ancient and modern, but as explained in the 'cancel the holidays' thread, we subconsciously assume that Christians ripped off paganism, and cannot comprehend the other way. There are a very few pagan imports into Christmas that I looked at in the other thread.

[signalman]

Do you ever find interesting coins at work? 

Oh yes.  I've purchased a lot of nice coins and bills out of circulation over the years.  I don't see nearly as many silver coins as I've seen you claim to find in this topic and other threads. 

Claim to find?  I don't lie about the coins I find.  I have no reason to.  I have pictures of many of them located at http://s167.photobucket.com/user/bugo348/library/?sort=3&page=1 if you want to take a look at them.

Please don't be offended.  I did not mean what I said in an offensive way.  I merely had no rock solid proof, I was not alleging that you're a liar.  I take everything I read with a grain of salt. I've never met you, nor have we ever conversed.  The only thing I have to go on is what I've read from your posts.  Nice collection, btw.

[Stephane Dumas]

A bit off-topic to the subject, but I spotted one good movie scene from a good Thanksgiving movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".

[elsmere241]

Working for the government, we get Thanksgiving off of course.  We used to get Friday off as well, but only because the governor would sign an executive order permitting us the day off with pay.  For about 7 years now, we haven't had that convenience, so it's the rare day when government workers come to work and many private employers have the day off.

Along those lines, officially I only get a half day off on Christmas Eve, but this county executive usually gives us the afternoon off.  (Not all of them have.)

[elsmere241]

Thursday and Friday are paid holidays for me and the office is closed. I may decide to take part of Wednesday off using vacation time also.

Only two of the five of us in my group at work came in yesterday.

[Takumi]

It ended up not being too busy at the store. I mostly moved Pepsi out of the stockroom onto the sales floor.

[roadman65]

It ended up not being too busy at the store. I mostly moved Pepsi out of the stockroom onto the sales floor.

I think that the boycot maybe effective somewhat.  Although, will it convince someone who works in an office building high up WHO DOES HAVE THANKSGIVING OFF, to admit its a bad move!

[bugo]

Do you ever find interesting coins at work? 

Oh yes.  I've purchased a lot of nice coins and bills out of circulation over the years.  I don't see nearly as many silver coins as I've seen you claim to find in this topic and other threads. 

Claim to find?  I don't lie about the coins I find.  I have no reason to.  I have pictures of many of them located at http://s167.photobucket.com/user/bugo348/library/?sort=3&page=1 if you want to take a look at them.

Please don't be offended.  I did not mean what I said in an offensive way.  I merely had no rock solid proof, I was not alleging that you're a liar.  I take everything I read with a grain of salt. I've never met you, nor have we ever conversed.  The only thing I have to go on is what I've read from your posts.  Nice collection, btw.

I've met many members of this forum in person, including the King Of aaroads.com, Alex, and they can all vouch for my integrity.

[ZLoth]

Thanksgiving night, and I'm back at work dealing with multiple issues.

[roadman]

A bit off-topic to the subject, but I spotted one good movie scene from a good Thanksgiving movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".

I agree Stephanie- it's an excellent holiday movie.  Great comedy, and with a nice touch at the end as well (and I still LMAO watching John Candy's "jacket" scene).