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Dodgeball Tourney aids Toys for Tots

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Carlos Ledee-Diaz named Employee of the Month at Golden Technologies, Inc.

The traditions are too much food, too much football, and for some, too much family. One of the most common suggestions at Thanksgiving dinner table is, while valuable, a bit of a trope that too often turns into a lazy litany.&#8220;Let&#8217;s go around the table and each say something we&#8217;re thankful for,&#8221; retired Aunt Ellie or first-grade cousin Joaquin will genuinely suggest.At which point you can expect some stock cliches and catty quips.From the sincere sibling who watches too many Hallmark movies: &#8220;I&#8217;m grateful for our health, for our opportunity to gather here, and for such a great and graciously prepared meal.&#8221;From the curmudgeon-in-residence: &#8220;I&#8217;m grateful I only have to do this once a year.&#8221;From the die-hard sports fan with one eye on the smartphone in his lap: &#8220;Thank God for that sack! Go Steelers!&#8221;Today will bring profound joy to some, the kind of joy you may only see in the eyes of a great-grandmother getting a rare visit from the newest baby in the family, or from the bliss of a true gourmand after revelling in a meal prepared from top-shelf ingredients with an astute blending of flavors.There will be the tense tables where someone simply can&#8217;t resist tossing a political firecracker into the conversation. It is always best to tactfully sidestep their bait.And some will lapse into their worst habits, over-engaging in chatter of this year&#8217;s vacation, or work, or the millions of photos on their phone, or whatever. Take a breath, remember you love them too, and that you&#8217;ve endured this for years, as they endure your peculiar penchants at family gatherings.But this may be a good year to look at Thanksgiving in a bigger context, to get beyond the bubble of cliches and anticipated ups and downs.Remember the origin of this country&#8217;s Thanksgiving: A small band of people forsaking every amenity &#8212; and burden &#8212; they had in the known world to roll and rock across the ocean in a rickety teapot of a boat modern travelers would view with genuine horror.A band of pioneers in the purest sense, trying to carve the unknown into opportunity, facing hazards against which they could not possibly prepare.When they decided to have a Thanksgiving feast, they did not have to come up with things to be thankful for. They had endured a brutal winter that killed half the Mayflower&#8217;s original passengers and crew.That first Thanksgiving was existential, pure and simple. They were grateful to be alive.It was also inclusive, with the Plymouth colonists &#8212; those uninvited immigrants, if you will &#8212; celebrating with the native Wampanoag IndiansIn a year that arguably saw the most divisive and negative presidential election in the country&#8217;s history, it may be helpful to strip the holiday, at least for a meal, to it&#8217;s most fundamental basis.We can disagree on the state and fate of our country and our lives. But we can be thankful that we are living here and now.Which means that, whatever has passed, we can be thankful for a chance to shape a future.

Our Opinion: A good year to remember Thanksgiving roots