My first Thanksgiving

My first Thanksgiving in 1981 was a memorable one, as I went to watch Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. It was a glorious day with thousands of people watching the floats of Snoopy, Spiderman, the Smurfs and Kermit float by in the cold autumn air. I thought I would spend the rest of the day visiting some stores in Manhattan, but everything was closed! So I headed back to New Hyde Park where I joined one of the families in my parish for a delicious turkey dinner. Things have changed as this year some stores will open in the evening to beat the Black Friday rush of customers storming the stores for early Christmas shopping. But it’s a shame that commercialism and materialism has tarnished this otherwise religious and meaningful holiday. But even as we watch the balloons, football games and enjoy a turkey dinner, as well as some pumpkin pie(at least for those who like them) let us also be thankful to God for giving us another year of blessings and graces.