eType Editor

Thanksgiving, that uniquely American harvest feast, is a favorite of many Americans. It’s a family time, time for, well, giving thanks. And a chance for us all to overeat on some of our favorite holiday foods.

Retail holidays now dot the consumer landscape throughout much of the year. That shift has made a day like Black Friday somewhat less unique than it was in years past. However, Black Friday remains the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season, and it’s still a major day for retailers big and small.

Here we are again, readers, about to finish another year. Are you satisfied with the world around you? Your nation, your state, your county? We are about to enter another Presidential election year. However, our country’s President is not the only office that will be on the ballot. It has been four years since this type of election cycle. If you are not happy with what has happened in the last four years, it is time to start considering what you will do about it. And yes, you do make a difference. One of the biggest issues/ questions I deal with as an election commissioner is people asking me what difference their vote makes or if their vote even counts. While the simple answer is yes, your vote counts, I understand that often they are asking a much bigger question.

I was on the phone talking to a client about hiring a woman to stay with their mom at night for a couple of weeks. She had just had surgery. Mike was listening to this and said “So, when you get older you can pay a woman to stay the night with you and no one says anything?” Look at my husband, always thinking...

Ready or not, it’s November and Thanksgiving! My, how the year has flown by. The old saying “slow as Christmas” just doesn’t apply any more. We’re living in the fast lane and barely one holiday is over before another approaches.

It all happened a very long time ago; I believe it was before my sisters were born. It’s like a “Once Upon A Time” story. We were all headed to my Grandma’s brother’s house, and Mama had a deep affection for this uncle, Uncle Ollie. He was a kind and patient man who had retired with a gold pocket watch from the railroad. Uncle Ollie and my Grandma shared a striking resemblance— dark skin, dark hair, strange brown eyes, straight long noses. However, Ollie was much quieter and more reserved than his sister Ethel. They lived in the small town of Taswell in a modest one-and-ahalf- story white frame house.

I am thankful for many things. Too many of them, I know I foolishly take for granted, but all of them are precious to me.