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The best Thanksgiving tradition that anybody shared with me this past week was the following letter from Diana Sims. Here is how she tells it in her own words:
“We live in Marion, Ohio, and have a summer place at Bass Haven West. We LOVE going up (to the lake) as often as we can.
“We always celebrate Thanksgiving at the lake with our two daughters. Our oldest is married with two children and lives in Westerville, Ohio, and our youngest daughter attends Capital University.
“Thanksgiving Day starts off with watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. After stuffing ourselves with turkey for lunch, it’s time for the Sims Turkey Trot!! (Actually it is a scavenger hunt we make up the weekend before Thanksgiving.)
“We all pile in the SUV and follow the signs we have made for places to find between Marblehead and Port Clinton. Places include the Marblehead Lighthouse, Catawba Island State Park, East Harbor State Park, the Jet Express … well you get the picture.
“We take family pictures at all our destination spots. We then pick out the BEST picture and use those as our Christmas Cards! We have so much fun doing this every year and it’s very educational, too!!”
Doesn’t that sound like a lot of fun? I think I’d like to try the Sims family holiday some day!
This past week I had to take my car out to Anything Automotive for a quick check. While waiting in the reception room (and eating a fast-food lunch) I looked at the large dry erase board. On it, many people had written philosophical sayings. It was neat. Here is some of what I read on the board:
The only way to have a friend is to be one.
Lead others to the Lord by example and kindness.
Plan ahead? Never! Live life (today) to the fullest. Seize the night because tomorrow you could be dead!
Smile. It’s contagious.
Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by how many moments take our breath away.
Let God light you path.
Well behaved women rarely make history.
Keep your enemies close and watch your friends.
Don’t be afraid to try something new. Beginners built the ark. Professionals built the “Titanic.”
Put your faith and trust in the Lord and he will direct your path.
Keep only that which you believe to be beautiful or know to be useful.
Each week recently as I have written Beacon Bits I have thought, “This will be the last time this year that I write about the lingering fall. But, again, this week, as I write very early on Monday morning, we have had another session of glorious autumn weather. Here we were yesterday — Nov 22 — and there still had not been a brutally killing frost.
Last week I saw numerous geraniums still in great bloom in lots of places. And I saw a tiny violet in bloom under a spreading bush. I still have petunias in bloom, too. Up until Saturday I had home grown bouquets of flowers in the house. But I’m not sure that I will try to pick more now. We’ll see. If the week does not get overwhelmingly busy, maybe I can get a least one more batch of posies in the house before the frost kills them off.
I did cut a great bowlful of new parsley and a couple heads of cabbage last week. To that extent, at least, the garden is still producing.
Ohio Chautauqua 2010, sponsored by the Ohio Humanities Council will feature characterizations of famous personages from the 1930s in their coming summer presentations. They will be in Ashland July 13-17. Here are the people who will be portrayed: First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt; entertainment king Orson Welles; singer and actor Paul Robeson; author of “Gone with the Wind,” Margaret Mitchell; comedic genius W.C. Fields. Other places where performances will be given are Hudson, Gallipolis and Marysville. Be sure to check the dates before venturing off to see these great performances.
Medical Mutual’s “Your Health” newsletter recently listed 10 ways to stay on a good health track. A few that seemed of particular importance (paraphrased here):
• Measure your food until you get used to recognizing what a “serving” really looks like.
• Physical activity helps you both physically and mentally. Work up to three 10-minute sessions each day on almost all days of the week.
• Brush your teeth twice a day with a soft bristle brush. And floss daily.
• Share information about your family’s health history with your medical providers. (And I would add that maybe you should have that — as well as a list of medications that you take — written down.
• Log on to the American Red Cross Web site www.redcross.org to learn safety measures.
• Prepare for disastrous emergencies of a catastrophic nature, especially if you are dealing with a chronic health condition.
Here is some information about drinking alcohol and the upcoming holidays.
• Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, the number of alcohol-related arrests greatly increases.
• Even when the economy is difficult and money is “tight,” people with serious alcohol addictions do not slow down on their drinking.
• The holiday season sometimes triggers relapses — even for people who are doing well in staying away from booze and have good intentions.
• Be especially careful in driving during the holiday season. Many people will be driving who are under the influence of alcohol.
And now some more difficult news to impart. Times are tough, to be sure. The latest reports out of Columbus state that Ohio has now reached 10.5 percent unemployment, up from 10.1 percent only a month ago. It is an awful figure, especially since it is unlikely to represent factually the huge numbers of people who are currently out of work.
Some people have run out of unemployment benefits and therefore are not counted on the official unemployment rolls (but they should be counted). Lots of folks have moved in with relatives in order to share household costs and therefore numbers of multi-generational households are on the rise.
I know that some college students have dropped out of school. With limited family resources (and inability to find their own jobs), college students are unable to pay tuition and other college costs. However, other students are continuing in school, furthering their college educations. The reason? They can’t find jobs anyway so, when possible, they stay in school to improve their education in hopes of finding a job when they have more education “credentials.”
I am told that the stories on charitable resources are very high this year. As I have written before, the Salvation Army needs non-perishable foods to help people in emergency need and also needs coats for kids. The Holiday Bureau is gearing up to assist folks in Ottawa County with a gift box of foods at Christmas time. They need money to buy meats and other items to round out the offerings.
This is a collaborative effort of the Salvation Army, Toys for Tots, Weapons Co. 124, and the Holiday Bureau. Partnering with other community organizations, churches and civic and fraternal organizations, for example, that serve as collection points the umbrella group is able to provide assistance to all who are in need.
Toy collection boxes will be in local stores, churches, banks and other businesses through Dec. 14. All toys collected here will stay in our county and it is expected that 1,900 county children will receive gifts. Drop off new, unwrapped toys and the volunteers will make sure that appropriate games and toys go to each child. Donations of money are appreciated. Call Maureen Saponaro at the Salvation Army at 419-732-2769 for information or to contribute.
Just one more thing: collaborative efforts like this ensure there is no duplication of services and that no one gets missed. So let’s all do what we can to help. If your children will receive gifts from parents, grandparents, etc, then this is a good time to help them learn to give, too.
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