First, one of the major change dates in my life.

It was erev Shabat.  1 week to Thanksgiving.  3 weeks to Chanuka.  Our school day was winding down.  (Fridays were short school days, so that those of us – like me- who needed an hours trip or more to get home- would be ready for Shabat that started around 5 PM.)

All of a sudden, the intercoms throughout the building sounded the alarm.  We were all demanded to drop what we were doing, and get down to the music room (the biggest room in the school) immediately.

For most of us in the school, it was our first introduction to Sue Katzman.  Ms. Katzman was the English and Social Studies teacher to the upper grades (7, 8, and 9).  We all knew her reputation.  (Is it politically correct to still use the term ‘battleaxe’?)

Ms. Katzman and Rabbi Meyer Fendel (the principal and founder of HANC, the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County) were leading us in prayer.  Asking Hashem to preserve the life of President John F. Kennedy who had just been shot in Dallas.

That was my first proof that prayer- while calming, while maybe even self-satisfying- doesn’t always make a difference.

It was also my first proof that the morons in this country can have just as much affect on our history as can the good guys.  (Which is yet another reason why I became a political activist- to ensure that the ability of morons to gain sway or followers would be thwarted.)

I had already learned first-hand about anti-Semitism for a decade.  Which taught me much about mob mentality (sic).

That was 55 years ago.   50 years ago, an Arab terrorist took the life of one of my heroes.  The brother of John F. Kennedy, Bobby.

I vote for a moment of silence in both of their memories.  And, lets add in the memory of Martin Luther King, for good measure.  (The song below was written was Dick Holler and sung by Dion- who hailed from New York City.)

And, now, today, is also the American Thanksgiving.

Different from the Jewish holiday of Thanksgiving.  That’s called Sukot;  it’s in late September or early October.  Which is what the Pilgrims celebrated.  (That’s a ceLebration, not a ceRebration, like my blog.)

Differently celebrated from the Canadian holiday of Thanksgiving.  That is done on the second Monday in October.  A lot closer to the date the Pilgrims celebrated the holiday.

By the way, the Pilgrims called this the Feast of Tabernacles [the Gentile terminology for Sukot].  (That holiday [Sukot/Tabernacles]  is one that all the peoples of the world will celebrate together when and if the messiah comes.)

The one common theme among these “thanksgivings”- we are supposed to recognize the abundance that has been afforded us.  Then, there’s at least that many of us who are also bound and determined to wait on line for an interminable duration just to score that one sale item from the stores.

In America, we think Thanksgiving was first celebrated here (and nowhere else in the world) some 400 years ago in Plymouth (1621).  Of course, it had been celebrated in England before that date- so it’s not surprising that the transplanted English would continue the tradition, when they came to North America.Of course, most of us have nothing to do with farming or harvest anymore, yet we celebrate this harvest festival, nevertheless.   We continue (???) that tradition by devouring a turkey, replete with cranberry sauce.  And, in many households, pigging out on TV football events.  To be followed by the rush and crush to spend one’s hard-earned money on Friday- Black Friday- the first official day of Christmas Excess…I am thrilled my family doesn’t so participate.  But, whatever your tradition, I wish you a grand holiday.  And, hope that you do reflect on all those great things in your life for which we should be thankful… each and every day of our lives.

I’m also thankful for those of you who bought my book.  You know- the one that explains how the new tax code that was enacted last December has changed the rules.  For our personal income, for our business profits, in manifold ways.  My book will help you properly plan to pay the lowest amount of taxes required by law.