I want to wish you and your families a blessed Thanksgiving. While many of us have much to be thankful for, clearly there are many issues and problems around the world. I think it is important this week to take the time from our busy schedules and say some prayers for all of the people who are much less fortunate than we are, especially those suffering in Ukraine and in the Middle East.

On a lighter note, I was curious to find some background on Thanksgiving, so of course I had to look it up on Wikipedia. Here are a few of the fun facts I discovered:

  • The first Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 over a three day harvest
  • Turkey wasn’t on the menu for the first Thanksgiving
  • Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3rd 1863
  • The typical American consumes about 3,000 calories on Thanksgiving (about 1,000 more than on a normal day)
  • More than 55 million Americans are expected to travel during the Thanksgiving holiday this year

On another reflective note, you may have heard that Rosalynn Carter, the former United States first lady and spouse of President Jimmy Carter, passed away yesterday at the age of 96. She was a very special person and a very close advisor to President Carter during his presidency from 1977 to 1981. It is amazing to note that they were married for 77 years! Jimmy Carter released the following statement yesterday: “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I accomplished. She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

On a personal level, I have fond memories of Jimmy and Rosalynn right before the 1976 presidential elections. You are probably wondering why. Well, in October 1976 as a senior at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, I invited Julie Jansen, a freshman, to a fraternity Halloween party. You had to wear a costume to get into the party, and I dressed up as Jimmy Carter, the Democratic contender in the presidential race, and wore a denim jacket coated with peanuts (Jimmy’s family were peanut farmers from Georgia). Julie dressed as Rosalynn Carter in a Southern dress. It is amazing to think that that Halloween party was 47 years ago! Julie and I got married three years later in 1980.

Let’s keep Roslyn and Jimmy Carter in our prayers.

Okay, one last thought, here’s a picture of a potential member of the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management class of 2050, Harrison Thomas Clark:

 

 

Header photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

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