| What Thanksgiving means to me, part 2
And no holiday was really a celebration unless the house was filled with family and friends, with raucous kids and equally noisy adults. Then, in the early '40s, we moved to New Jersey, where my father worked at the Curtiss-Wright plant. Mom was cut off from her family. They had little money, and long-distance telephone calls were a carefully timed treat. Holidays were particularly difficult. Going "home" was out of the question. We had no car (not that you could get gas anyway) and the trains were full of soldiers. Then, too, my father often had to work six and even seven days a week. Nor were there many family members around. I was an only child and my father's family often had obligations with in-laws or their own holiday work schedules. Our Thanksgiving "turkey" was often a roast chicken for three.
Kucinich Bows Out with Dignity, Bangs Anti-War Drum
But the big variable is money, huge amounts, which Kucinich never had, and without that the only recovery is to win primaries (on analogy with Huckabee, assisted there by grassroots' evangelicals' distaste for the preferred alternatives), which is difficult to do without money and name recognition. The shameful exclusion of Kucinich from televised debates reflects institutional discomfort with Kucinich's outspoken, and clear and compelling, arguments especially concerning single payer health care (which drives big pharma livid). Kucinich got no real support from the other candidates not only because they were rivals for votes (and had plenty of problems of their own) but also because, at some level, Kucinich was an embarrassment to all concerned: like the kid who said the emperor has no clothes, Kucinich was saying the Bush administration has no clothes–and all the other Democratic candidates (except Gravel) participate in the illusion to varying degrees.
Yum! More shoppers sending food gifts
Monroe, Wis. - Hundreds of tiny blocks of chocolate cake and cream ramble down the conveyor at The Swiss Colony. A waterfall of chocolate splashes over them before a bakery worker drizzles more chocolate on top. The catalog company's bakery produces nearly 54 million petits fours per year, with most sold during the Christmas season. It claims to be the nation's largest producer of the tiny French pastries, which are one of its best-selling items. While Americans are spending less overall on presents, sales of food gifts grew almost 50 percent to nearly $16 billion from 2004 to 2006, according to Packaged Facts, a division of Rockville, Md.-based MarketResearch.com. About one-third of consumers shop for food gifts during the winter holidays, it said. Researchers and shoppers say food has the same one-size-fits-all appeal as gift cards, but with the added allure of giving friends and family something they wouldn't normally buy for themselves.
Sunday To Bring More Wet Weather
The warnings for Yolo, Colusa, Solano, Glenn, Lake and Tehama counties were lifted after 2 to 4 inches of rain fell overnight.The deluge overran some rural streams and forced brief road closures. But the dangerous urban flooding the weather service had warned of didn't materialize.The latest in a week's worth of thunderstorms drenched Southern California on Sunday, raising fears of mudslides and flooding, but forecasters said the worst was over."Things will start to die down as the night goes on," said National Weather Service forecaster Ryan Kittell. "There's still the potential for some localized thunderstorms but after midnight rain will be confined to the mountains."Monday will bring a clearing trend, he said.Up to 3 inches of rain had fallen by early afternoon in valley and coastal areas since nightfall Saturday, with about 4 inches in the mountains, according to forecasters.
Spirit strongest in wheat and sheep country
AT MASS on Christmas Eve, Father Darren Howie welcomed 500 people to a packed St Mary's Catholic Church - about half the official population of Lockhart. National data shows that the wheat and sheep growing town has the greatest level of Christian affinity in rural NSW, and not even the rigours of drought can diminish spiritual solidarity in this Riverina hamlet. People in country NSW identify more strongly than their city cousins with Christianity, regardless of their denomination, and they more closely identify with the Christian faith than any other rural community in any other state of Australia. Three out of four people living in rural NSW identify themselves as Christian, compared with 65 per cent in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania and 54 per cent in the Northern Territory.
Holiday events calendar
Freewill offering for Catholic Charities' Share the Spirit program. Martini and Olive present "Takin' Care of Christmas," 7:30 p.m., Pioneer Place on Fifth, 22 Fifth Ave. S. Tickets cost $24 for adults and $19 for senior citizens and students. Group rates available. Details: 203-0331 days, 203-1233 nights and weekends, www.ppfive.com. Friday City of Lights, Little Falls. See today's listing. Historic Ornament Collection, Stearns History Museum, 235-33rd Ave. S. See today's listing. Christmas at the Mansions, 1-6 p.m., Linden Hill Historical Event Center and Educational Facility, 608 Highland Ave, Little Falls. See today's listing. 38th Annual 21 East Ash Art Show and Sale, 4-9 p.m., James Loso home, 21 Ash St.
Land of the Cranes
Although the project is being designed to condominium specifications, the company will rent the units as apartments when they open, Payne said. D5Union Lofts Restaurant
Restaurateur Los Feliz LLC plans to open an upscale restaurant and lounge in the Union Lofts, a 92-unit rental project at Eighth and Hill streets, in early 2008. Managing Principal John Valencia, who has done several projects in Miami's South Beach and Los Angeles, has signed a 10-year lease to occupy the 11,000-square-foot space in the former Union Bank building being transformed by Meruelo Maddox Properties. A 6,000-square-foot American fare restaurant will open in the former lobby while a 5,000-square-foot lounge is set to unfold in the old vault and safety deposit area. Many of the original design elements will remain, including the ornate ceilings and wall motifs from the 1920s and '30s.
Q-C bargain hunters cash in
Electronics items are a popular item among shoppers this holiday season as witnessed by the long, long lines at the Davenport Best Buy.6:45 a.m. Katie Meyer of Davenport called in while waiting to check out at Menard’s. She expects to be in line for another hour before reaching the check out register. Her prize? Cordless headphones and silverware. Katie says shoppers are using garbage cans on wheels as shopping carts as all carts are in use. And apparently the Grinches are out in force as some have resorted to raiding others’ shopping carts for those hard-to-get items.7:15 a.m. Jennifer DeWitt stood in the checkout line at the Davenport Target store for 40 minutes. She’s going to dump off her items in her car and then walk to Best Buy as their lot is full. Jennifer says big screen televisions, Christmas decorations, toys and electronics are the big purchase items.
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