The grocery stores were full of happy people. They were preparing for the feast. I recall buying a turkey each year before Thanksgiving to donate to our Office Christmas Dinner, attended by over 200 people. Gerald Davis, a foreman in our group, began hosting dinner for his staff in the 1980s, and it evolved into a department-wide event. Our student staff loved the fellowship and good food. Many of our international students had nowhere to go for Thanksgiving, and the Building Services Thanksgiving Dinner provided a place of love and goodwill.

I visited four stores this morning, and more to come before Thanksgiving, the big day. There is a comfort in familiar events. A sense of place in tradition. Holidays hold us together. They let us know we are still in the game. As we age, the Game of Life becomes increasingly important to us. It was easy to blow past the Holidays when we were so young and full of ourselves. There was always next year. There were places to go, people to see, and things to do. Tomorrow is another day Scarlett O’Hara said. We were building for the future, and then the future arrived while we were sleeping.

This is the Thanksgiving Starting Line of the 2025 Holiday Season. There is fun to be had, including Black Friday Adventures. A trip to Grand Rivers, Kentucky, to see the Tennessee Brooks. The Phantom Of The Opera in St. Louis and the Christmas Eve service. Soon, Advent will be here, and MJ already has the Advent Calendar full of sweet treats.

We are aboard the Holiday Train, and it is chugging out of the station. The Holiday Train is for the poor and rich alike. It has room for all people. The magic thread knits us together into a complex, majestic quilt of many colors, providing warmth against the winter.