Thanksgiving

Thursday,November 27th,is Thanksgiving,a time to pause,reflect,and give thanks to God for His many blessings,and be thankful that we still live in the greatest nation on Earth. Even with all the problems in our nation,economic and otherwise,we should count our blessings and be thankful to God for what we have and all He has blessed us with. Also,be thankful for good health,the love of family and friends,and the hope that tomorrow will be better. There is always light at the end of the tunnel and giving thanks to God that we will prevail in all difficulties is reason enough to declare a holiday. Though we should have a grateful,thankful heart every day,not just on this day. Whether you're at home,eating out,or visiting with family and friends,have a happy,safe,and blessed Thanksgiving. God bless you.

A Brief History of Thanksgiving

A little known fact is that the first Thanksgiving took place at Berkley Plantation in Virginia in 1619,two years before the Pilgrims had their first Thanksgiving at Plymouth,Massachusetts,but the Pilgrim story is better known because of the hardships they endured,almost from the time they set sail on the Mayflower from Plymouth,England, in September,1620. Many were Pilgrims seeking religious freedom though there were a few opportunists along for the ride. The Mayflower was actually supposed to dock at Jamestown, Virginia, which had been established as a colony in 1607 and was America's first permanent English settlement,but a storm blew the Mayflower and its passengers off course and they ended up in the area that became New England. Beaten and battered by the storms in the Atlantic Ocean,the Mayflower arrived at what today is known as Provincetown Harbor in November,1620. The Pilgrims decided that the land was not suitable for habitation,so they sailed up the coast and found an area where land had been cleared by an Indian tribe that a few years before had been wiped out by a plague. The Pilgrims decided it was fit for habitation and soon built a colony they named Plymouth,after the English city they set sail from. The first few months were extremely hard on the new settlers. About half of the Mayflower's passengers died from disease or malnutrition during a harsh winter at the Plymouth colony. But their strong faith in God brought the Pilgrims through. In March,1621,the Pilgrims contemplated returning to England on the Mayflower but some friendly Indians arrived from a nearby area and offered to help the Pilgrims. They taught the Pilgrims how to plant crops and helped in any way they could as the settlers adjusted to their surroundings. There were no more deaths as there had been the previous winter. In the autumn of 1621,the Pilgrims had a bountiful harvest and gave thanks to God for delivering them from all they had endured. The Indians joined the Pilgrims in a feast of Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims expressed their gratitude for all the friendship and help that the Indians gave the Pilgrims during their difficult first year in the Plymouth colony.

Many years later,there were Thanksgiving declarations,such as those issued by President George Washington. However,Thanksgiving as we know it today did not become an official holiday until President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation in 1863 that the last Thursday of November would be a national day of Thanksgiving. This has since been an annual custom in the United States with the only change being in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that the fourth Thursday of November would be a national day of Thanksgiving. This was mostly done to help retailers still struggling from the Great Depression with an early start to the Christmas shopping season.

As you enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner,pause,reflect,and give thanks to God. God bless you.

The 2008 NASCAR Season

The 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup series ended its season November 16th at Homestead International Raceway near Miami. As expected,Jimmie Johnson won his third consecutive NASCAR Cup championship,a feat not accomplished since the 1970s by Cale Yarborough. Points runner-up Carl Edwards won the race,his ninth win of the season. Congratulations to Johnson and Edwards. It was a race filled with firsts, lasts, and much transition. Rookie Scott Speed drove the #83 Red Bull Racing Toyota usually driven by Speed's future teammate Brian Vickers. Speed drove the #83 as the car was in the top 35 in points while Vickers qualified 20th in the #84 Toyota, the car Speed will drive at Red Bull next season.

It was Tony Stewart's last race for Joe Gibbs Racing,where the two-time NASCAR Cup champion drove the #20 Toyota in the 2008 season. From 2003 to 2007,Stewart drove a Chevrolet. In his first four years at JGR, Stewart drove a Pontiac. Stewart will have his own team next season,Stewart/Haas Racing,where he will also be a driver. Stewart's teammate will be fellow Indiana native Ryan Newman,who drove his last race in the #12 Dodge for Penske Racing. The #20 will be driven by 18-year-old newcomer Joey Logano next season while the #12 will be driven by Nationwide series veteran David Stremme,who hails from Newman's hometown of South Bend,Indiana, and grew up with Newman,with whom Stremme remains friends. Stewart will drive the #14 Chevrolet for Stewart/Haas Racing,while Newman will drive the #39 Chevrolet at SHR.

The 2008 season stirred a lot of controversy and debate,especially on the Car of Tomorrow,or COT,and why three drivers,Jimmie Johnson,Carl Edwards,and Kyle Busch,won so many races. Busch's nine wins came during the regular season but he seemed to fizzle as the Chase began. It is odd that four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon did not win a race in 2008 and neither did one of my favorites,the 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth. Despite there being no NASCAR races until February, I will have things to occupy me,such as Thanksgiving,Christmas,New Year's,and being with my family,along with UNC Tarheel basketball (the Tarheels won their season opener Saturday against Penn 86-71)and dreaming about the 2009 Daytona 500. I am counting down the days until Daytona already. 91 days until we hear "Gentlemen,start your engines".

Election 2008

I did not post a blog last week as I have had many things on my mind on a personal level as well as nationally. Even though I voted for John McCain,congratulations are in order to President-elect Barack Obama,who I will admit,ran a good,almost flawless campaign. Both Obama in his acceptance speech and McCain in his concession speech,spoke eloquently by reminding us that we are all Americans before we are Democrats,Republicans,or independents. I wish Mr. Obama well in his new administration and that he serves to unite the nation to the challenges that face us. In my home state of North Carolina,Republican Elizabeth Dole lost her Senate re-election bid to Democrat Kay Hagan. Mrs.Dole delivered a most eloquent and powerful concession speech by reflecting on her forty-plus years as a public servant and reaffirmed how proud she was being a native North Carolinian. She also wished Kay Hagan well in the Senate seat she will inherit from Mrs.Dole in January. Mrs.Dole's speech made me feel extremely proud to be a North Carolinian. With the election behind us,now we can move forward united and strong.

SPORTS

In college football,the North Carolina Tarheels(6-2 for the season) will play Georgia Tech at Chapel Hill,N.C.,on Saturday. Good luck to the Tarheels after taking last week off.

NFL

The Carolina Panthers (8-4 for the season) play the Raiders at Oakland,Calif.,on Sunday. Good luck to the Panthers.

NASCAR

The next to last race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season will be run on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway. Jimmie Johnson is the points leader with Carl Edwards his closest challenger at 106 points behind. Barring engine failure,a poor finish,a win by Edwards,or all of the above,Johnson will likely be one race short at Phoenix of locking up the championship. The season ends next week at Homestead Raceway near Miami.

This is all I have to post this week. Take care and God bless.