EDITORAL by Dave Mishur --  Thanksgiving gets no respect. It's like the fat little kid on the corner of the playground that everybody ignores at recess. Like the scrawny non-athletic runt surrounded by two all-star older brothers, Thanksgiving languishes, almost forgotten, between the twin towers of Halloween and Christmas. Those are the major Feasts.

From late October through December there now exists a bacchanalia of syrupy songs, glaring lights and infantile decorations. Whoever invented the miniature pumpkin lights strung on trees, or worse yet, miniature skeletons, should be strangled by them. If we have to put up with these things, where then, are the little turkey and cornucopia lights to wrap around our homes at Thanksgiving? Where are the Thanksgiving carols, the gifts, the tricks and treats?

Thanksgiving it seems, is like the giant meal the Romans fed to their gladiators before sending them into the arena of slaughter. For some, it's no more than a big preparation for the real thing, the real deal of Christmas shopping, which begins the very next day.

It’s a preamble to Black Friday. Eat your fill now, because once you start shopping there won't even be time for a snack. Most stores and shops are open on Thanksgiving, just like any ordinary day.

Yet the Thanksgiving traditions continue. “Over the hills and through the woods...” People travel for millions of miles this weekend to be with their families. The "Turkey Hotline" is open, rendering sage advice for even the most klutzy of cooks and probably saving thousands of lives in the process. Guys have invented new and novel ways of cooking the noble bird -- frying, smoking, even grilling it stuck upright on an open can of beer, allowing the boozy vapors to saturate the meat, rendering it especially tender and juicy.

This is the quintessential American holiday, the one the Pilgrims invented. They knew how to throw a party! Three days of food and fun. They even invited their new Indian friends, led by Chief Massasoit, who came along with about ninety of his braves and four deer that they added to the already loaded Thanksgiving table.

So, Thanksgiving still lives. And we have created some of our own grand traditions to add to what the Pilgrims and the Indians began ‘way back in 1621 on the shores of Pimouth Bay. Two of our fine restaurants generously provide a banquet worthy of the Pilgrims, free for one and all; and, through they’re a bit early for Christmas, the festive lights on downtown trees do add to the gaiety. Many churches have special services.

Thanksgiving is alive and well in Pontiac. It may not have the external trappings and decorations of the two major holidays that sandwich it, but it is celebrated nonetheless. The spirit of Thanksgiving, it seems, is more serious and personal. There are no carols, no silly songs sung by cats and chipmunks. It’s an internal, family holiday, filled with football and fun.

Yet there is a serious side to it as well. We need to count our blessings, and the day serves as an excellent reminder to do so, and do it right now, while you’re thinking of it. And what perfect timing; right between the silliness of Halloween and the all-encompassing glory of Christmas.

In many ways, Thanksgiving may not be what it used to be. But then, in this day and age, what is? Traditions change, they come and go, but certain meaningful ones remain. The tradition of Thanksgiving will remain as long as we here in America have things to be thankful for. And that will be a very, very long time.