One could argue that the two most American holidays, our quintessential just-us days off, are Thanksgiving and July 4th.

Lots of people still refer to any national holiday — Veterans Day, Presidents Day — as a government holiday. That’s because the government and banks close on many “holidays,” which aren’t holidays for most people who do not work for the government.

Before the 9/11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon, many if not most government workers got each of the national holidays off. It was a matter of fact. Government, banks and schools were closed.
But in the retail sector, or if you work in or manage a restaurant, movie theater, parking lot or a business, today is just another day.

Because of security threats to the nation, many more federal workers are on the job today. And tomorrow.

No long four-day weekend for them, even though a few big-chain stores have toned down Black Friday. Bottom line: Even though this is a “government” holiday, lots of you are on duty today. Fortunately, for us.

So from those of us who have the day off, a salute to those who are working. We don’t know what a lot of you are doing, but thanks for doing it!

Nearly Useless Factoid

By Michael O’Connell

The first Thanksgiving day game was played in 1876 by the Yale and Princeton football teams.

Source: Wikipedia

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