Also posted at: www.JimMaisano.blogspot.com
I know this may not be the most important issue in the world, but I don’t think it’s right that Walmart and other stores are opening for Black Friday sales at 8pm on Thanksgiving night. Can’t Thanksgiving just be a day where family and friends hang out, eat a great meal, watch some football and spend quality time together?
It is also very unfair to force employees at these stores to leave their families on Thanksgiving.
We live in such a fast-paced society. Many people are working long hours and cannot spend as much time as they would like with families, especially those with kids. I’m sure that American families need more time sitting around the dinner table and less time at shopping malls.
I love Thanksgiving. Since I got married, I spend Thanksgiving with my wife’s family, and my mother-in-law Irene Barno puts together a fabulous dinner. I also have such wonderful memories of Thanksgiving with my family, and my mother was also a terrific cook. You will not be surprised that the Maisanos had some intense and legendary debates at the dinner table about sports and politics. But most importantly, at both the Maisano and Barno homes on Thanksgiving, there was always a tremendous amount of love as we spent that important family time together.
Jim Maisano is the Minority Leader of the Westchester County Board of Legislators. He represents District 11 covering New Rochelle and Pelham. You can follow Jim on Facebook, Twitter or on his Blog. You can contact Jim at 914-995-2826 or CtyLegJimMaisano@gmail.com
Food Stores are Open too…
A new trend also is that many supermarkets/ food outlets are open Thanksgiving Day until 2 or 3PM.
This is equally eggregious to me. Don’t these employees deserve a FULL day w family/ friends?
So we’ve managed to shrink Thanksgiving Day down to a 5 hour window from 3PM-8PM.
Probably can expect a Thanksgiving app. on our phones in years to come and just skip the whole thing all-together!
agreed, but….
I agree Jim. Spending one night with family and friends, free from distraction, is not too much to expect. However, Thanksgiving is an American tradition. We keep being told America’s demographic is changing. Apparently, these traditions are changing as well. If you’re not from this country, you might not be very interested in Thanksgiving. Whether from here or not, if you’re under 35, you’ve probably been taught how bad the United States is, so it’s just a day off from work. Sadly, I see it fading away in the future. Only those “out of touch” will celebrate.
Agree
I agree with you Jim. My employer is closed on Thanksgiving day. In fact, we are giving away turkeys and sweet potatoes in anticipation of this. It should be an entire day to be with family and friends. Yes, there will be folks who will scream that business is business, but we must pause sometimes to reflect and remember that family is important.