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Finding that Deal in a Haystack
As people try to garner enough strength to overcome the food coma from yesterday in order to build up energy to walk around malls and shoppes today, we are reminded that for the dedicated, savvy shopper, every second counts on this specific day every year. Departing in the early morning hours for destinations at the exact right time and finding that elusive parking space back in the corner can be the difference between joy and sorrow…relatively speaking (mostly).
Well, perhaps this does not ring true for everybody. Still, the deals on Black Friday can be quite spectacular if properly researched, sought out and obtained. For those who actively and excitedly participate in this competitive quest, I wish you good luck and be sure to have a full-tank of gas.
Not only is this practical advice for obvious reasons, but seeing a “full-tank” may inspire that extra “it” factor within yourself that could ultimately turn your Black Friday into a golden one.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Today, we will all gather around the dinner table of that brave soul who willingly volunteered to host Thanksgiving with our family and friends to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. Feasts will overwhelm kitchens with each family’s special touch. This may pertain to cranberry sauce that is prepared beyond just shimmying it out of the can, potatoes with or without lumps or that special dessert from a family recipe with that quintessential whipped cream dollop.
Regardless of the shouting, screaming and crying (and don’t forget about the children), the varying successes and failures throughout today will perfectly define Thanksgiving for us all. But, when all the food is eaten, the dishes cleared (not yet cleaned, but cleared) and people’s adrenaline levels have subsided, then that special bonding moment can begin with either a visit to the movie theater or an in-home entertainment presentation.
From my family to yours, here’s a little insight (or appetizer if you will) to what really brings joy to our world (drum beat please!).
Don’t forget about those in-laws…
Happy Thanksgiving!
P.S. We all know the scene below is when we learned what it is in turkey that makes us drowsy:
88 MPH to an ’88 (or so) Thanksgiving
In eight days, families from across the United States will gather together at their dinner table (and kid’s table) to individually and collectively give thanks for the blessings in their lives. There will be joyfulness from reminiscing about past memories, delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen and, above all else, complete and utter bedlam.
95% chaos, 5% peace and tranquility: Hello Thanksgiving!
Before we funnel into the designated house of our soon to be regretful host next week, one particular suburban Philadelphia family welcomed us into their home for a quintessential Thanksgiving celebration last night. While mission control was the kitchen and the commander was Beverly, the action spread far and wide on the Goldbergs premises.
Spoiler Alert for the DVR crowd for the latest episode of, “The Goldbergs”
The sons engaged in their made-up sibling game of “Ball Ball.” Or is it “Adam Ball” now…? The scenes with Adam and Barry (with Erica looking on, lounging on the spectator couch half-interested, half-rolling her eyes) was the perfect imagery of the glory that arises from a random, yet totally logical family game with a one-of-a-kind trophy to be used as a chalice at dinner for all to see.
In the case of this sibling game that involves knee pads, pillows, two hockey masks, a catchers mask and blue and yellow hula hoops scrunched in bean bag chairs, the age of old question between the older and the not-so much younger brother anymore is continuously answered:
Who’s the man? But what happens if that “one in a million” chance actually occurs? Then “the man” would have to be spelled A-D-A-M.
For Barry, the consequences would be comically dire.
When not fighting, this is the predominant therapy for how siblings interact with each other. This is how they bond. Are the rules absurd and never-ending? Will this ultimately lead to a colossal rematch for the ages that is the thing of legends and great mythology?
Yes, yes and yes!
And then, all of a sudden like something shot right outta thin air, the crazy (and oddly consistent) relative shows up with a grand entrance in a car that perfectly symbolizes the pure imagination of an entire decade and era of movies: the DeLorean DMC-12.
“Gotta get back in time!”
Huey Lewis and the News knows what that’s about.
Murray has always viewed his brother Marvin as a screw up, a chronically burdensome responsibility and, yes, a moron. Yet, during this Thanksgiving visit in 1980-something, Marvin promised it was different. Now working a “normal 9-5 job,” his future was assuredly looking brighter and smoother.
Did you know a triangle is the same shape as a pyramid?
A few mysteriously burning faces, an acknowledgement of basic geometry and a parking brake-less DeLorean DMC-12 on a hill later, the Goldbergs’ plus-1 was as unsettled as his car’s frame. Not even Beverly’s entertainingly deceitful promises to her fellow dinner companions in pursuit of her perfect Thanksgiving with a certain emphasis on the chef could have brought the harmony on the day she wanted it most.
No, it was going to take something much more powerful to change the dynamics of this disastrous day. In fact, it would take a curve ball.
In an act of sincere generosity sparked by a difficult, though necessary introspective, Marvin gave his big brother a small token of his lifelong appreciation for taking care of him when he was younger. It was a baseball. It was a memory. Perhaps most importantly, it was unexpected. Following this surprising gesture, Murray decided to bring his younger brother back into the future plans of his family’s Thanksgiving feast that evening.
What does a scheming in-law/uncle + a crazy grandfather + two battling brothers + a completely full of it (had already eaten turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce next door) teenage daughter + a thankful husband and family to their relentlessly hard-working wife and mother = ?
It equates to virtually everyone’s family at Thanksgiving.
By the end of the special Thanksgiving episode, “The Goldbergs” had confirmed the acutely accurate and reliable holiday formula: 95% entertaining chaos and 5% peace, tranquility and love.
With a full season ordered for, “The Goldbergs,” it’s a safe bet that lots of “fanz digit.”
P.S. Adam’s right, Harrison Ford does rule!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 