A call to rescue Thanksgiving. It’s been hijacked.

Berman’s been complaining about the hijacking of Thanksgiving for years. He’s a very passionate man.  So it’s easy for me to ignore his rants, just as much as he overlooks mine. But there was no denying it this year, and no one seems to care. Thanksgiving’s missing and it’s time to to mount a rescue.  Who can eat at a time like this? A major national celebratory feast is missing. You people are selfish. Thanksgiving is in someone’s trunk right now, with duck tape over it’s mouth. We need help. Let’s form a search party. No one gets to eat on the last Thursday of November till the holiday’s rescued.

I failed to see it for years.  I don’t know why I didn’t notice it.  Berman never failed to sound off every time we visited the mall in November and discovered hung Christmas decorations and jingling holiday music. His grievances escalated last year when retailers completely ignored Thanksgiving and started opening their store on the holiday.  My eyes were finally opened this year when I saw a neighbor, of Berman’s BTW, decorating his house with Christmas lights for Halloween.  For HALLOWEEN!!!!  It’s ridiculous.  The guy did have Halloween inflatables in the front yard, only to be replaced with Christmas inflatables on November 1st.  I bet the guy was waiting by the clock for midnight to replace those dumb air filled cartoon characters.

Even after my enlightenment to this miscarriage of justice, I was apathetic, until it hit home.  Isn’t that how it always works?  A couple of evenings ago, Olivia, my oldest daughter, my first born, my princess, came home, batted her beautiful eye lashes, going through her whole daddy-finger-wrapping routine and asked, “Daddy, can we put up our Christmas tree? Melanie (her little neighbor friend) already put up her tree.  Can we watch a Christmas movie?”  I was horrified.  This evil had entered my home.  I never believed it would happen to me.  I didn’t know what to do.  At first I was in denial.  I ignored her requests.  Then she circumvented my TV viewing authoritah and manipulated her mother to join her cause. Lucia even wanted to introduce the Elf on the Shelf weeks before the season’s greeting.  I had lost.  It seemed like Thanksgiving was lost for ever.  I had to let Berman know of my failure to preserve the Holiday.  But Berman’s a true friend.   “Say NO!” Berman yelled.  He grabbed me by the shoulders, shook me three times, slapped me on the cheek and told me to get a hold of myself.

The Bermaniser was right.  The war for Thanksgiving had to start at home. It’s time to synchronize our watches, split up and win back this feast on all fronts.

My first step in planning this rescue mission, was to think back to when I was a kid and Thanksgiving was celebrated all November long.  I remember Thanksgiving decorations in school classrooms, singing Thanksgiving songs in music class. That’s what I needed.  I need holiday inspiring weapons.  I scoured the land (Hulu Plus, Netflix, YouTube, Spotify and even Pinterest) looking for books, songs, cartoons, movies, TV specials, documentaries and themed episodes of my favorite TV shows and sitcoms.  There was a plethora of resources.  I pulled out the heavy artillery on the first night.  Shock and awe! We watched “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” on Monday night.  What a way to start what I hope will be a daily Thanksgiving countdown and devotional. We’ll be reading, listening and watching something for the rest of the month, and not forgetting to take a moment to remember those we are grateful for.

Thanksgiving deserves the same anticipation and excitement that other holidays get.  While other holidays have been commercialized or used as an excuse for drunken frivolity, Thanksgiving still holds true to it’s original charter, a feast with family and friends, in remembrance of the blessings we have, whether they are many or few.

Photo posted by maloned (@maloned)

Sure, Thanksgiving has a few other elements, besides the dinner, but that’s icing on the cake.  I love waking up to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. I enjoy going to the park to play what we hoped would be an injury-free Turkey Bowl football game by a bunch of middle-aged bruts trying to relive the days of their youth.  Then coming home to prep the house and food, with the couple of NFL games playing in the background, for the evening celebrations.

The evening would climax with a night of family and friends enjoying a fusion of an American Traditional Thanksgiving meal, comprised of Turkey, gravy, mash potatoes, stuffing, cranberry, pumpkin pie … and a traditional Cuban, salsa music playing, Noche Buena/Año Nuevo roasted pork, moros, yuca and turrones.

Sure, we all have a few annoying family members that get under our skin, but part of the Thanksgiving spirit is to learn tolerance, to love people unconditionally, loving them for who they are and not who we wish they were.  “To love real people, not ideal people.”

I hope to spread this.  I’ve started a playlist on YouTube and Spotify to keep us in the spirit the whole month through.  I hope Lucia joins me and posts links to kids books, yummy recipes and fun crafts.  I want to take advantage and teach my daughters simple things like table manners, life lessons about tolerance, consideration and gratitude.  I would love to model generosity for the girls by giving and volunteering at a church’s Thanksgiving meal for the less fortunate.

Berman’s going to make sure to complain about how I never listen to him after reading this.  I’m sorry Bro, but I’m sure this won’t be the last time. Thanks for being there and saving Thanksgiving at the Garcia residence.

Lets remember, “what keeps Christmas special is that it’s only one month out of the entire year.” Berman said in his infinite wisdom. Let’s not spoil it by starting the season way to early and let’s not miss out on all the joy of celebrating Thanksgiving. Then the Elf and the Shelf can start making appearances.

Edited by Lynda Fernandez

Farewell to WWE Magazine: A Heart-Felt Thank You From A Lifelong Fan

The last issue of WWE Magazine came out this week and though it may seem like an unlikely source to most, this monthly periodical taught me how to read. Growing up, my mother tried in vain to get me to read. No move on her part, from forcing me to check out books, to reading with me, and more seemed to work. Throughout elementary school I struggled with poor grades, but all that changed when I found a subject I would be passionate about for the rest of my life — professional wrestling. 

It seems like only yesterday that I discovered Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) and the Apter family of magazines. My mother was hesitant to let me read “lucha libre” publications, but when she saw my deep interest, and more importantly that I was reading each and every word printed in them, she supported it. I grabbed every wrestling magazine I could get my hands on and read and read and read. Quickly, and though still young, my fandom matured. Pro Wrestling Illustrated covered all wrestling, but I wanted something even more specific — @WWE (then WWF) Magazine.

   

I loved all things wrestling, but WWE was the undisputed champion of professional wrestling in my youth. I craved learning more about superhero-like superstars Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Iron Sheik, Ultimate Warrior, or Jake the Snake. I would see WWF Magazine advertised on Craig DeGeorge's (now Craig Minervini, a local Miami Marlins baseball announcer) weekly WWF Updates from the Event Center on WWF Wrestling Challenge and Superstars of Wrestling, the local syndicated programs. Trips to my neighborhood Circle K, Walgreens, or Woolworth’s (where I would buy PWI) turned up with no sign of WWE Magazine. Searching for WWE Magazine became a ritual anytime I’d visit any store with a magazine rack. For a long time, it seemed I would never find an issue at all. A year passed before I walked into an Eckerd’s Drug Store and saw Ted Dibiase flaunting the Million Dollar Belt. That day and that cover of the May 1989 issue of WWE Magazine are forever etched into my memory. 

After that, it seemed every store had caught on and WWE Magazine was just about everywhere. I was still young though, and had to secretly ride my bike to the Westchester Bookstore in order to buy up every issue I could. My clandestine adventures hidden from my mom lasted a few years until I got my first summer job as a telemarketer with the Police Athletic League. Now I was able to become a subscriber and get WWE Magazine delivered straight to my home. Yes, this was via what is now known as snail mail, but back then there was no Internet and the anticipation caused by waiting was part of the fun. From that point on, the steady flow of information about the WWE began in earnest. Month after month I was reading about my heroes and most importantly I was reading a lot. 

Today, the WWE holds an annual WestleMania Reading Challenge where WWE Superstars visit local schools as they tour the country to encourage young fans to read. Though they didn’t do the challenge when I was a kid, I like to think of myself as an unofficial success story. For 27 years I’ve read WWE magazine and since the very first one, I’ve been a devoted fan of wrestling — a lifer — one of those kids who never grew out of the orchestrated action of sports entertainment. Because of the influence of WWE Magazine, my grades rose, I won turnaround student of the year, and ultimately received a bachelor’s degree from Florida International University. For that, I bid a fond farewell and loudly shout “THANK YOU” to the magazine that quite literally transformed my life. 

Edited by Ruben Diaz @RMartian.