By Eric W. Schoen
Editor’s Note: Pray for Eric as he undergoes surgery this week. Here is one of his old holiday columns
I hope you have a nice Thanksgiving filled with food, friends, family and fun. I happen to like turkey, gravy on the side and not sliced too thin. Cream of turkey soup, candied yams, a vegetable like broccoli or thin sliced zucchini in tomato sauce to make you feel like you are eating healthy. Dessert could be apple pie, pecan pie, bread pudding or the myriad options available. A delightful meal particularly when there is turkey leftover for sandwiches the next day, doused with good deli mustard.
Now I know there are many of you out there who despise turkey. The meal can consist of ham, prime rib, and some just like a simple lasagna. I’m not a pumpkin person, so what’s up with all this pumpkin soup and worse, pumpkin cheesecake. Most of the restaurant menus I saw featured both pumpkin soup and the offending pumpkin cheesecake. At $100 a person! Most of us love cheesecake, so why add pumpkin too it. It might be on display at your local supermarket with other desserts, but does anyone go into a grocery store and ask, ‘Where’s the pumpkin cheesecake?’
I love carving a pumpkin for Halloween, decorating pumpkins, putting them out as decoration sizes small to large on the porch, but I don’t think there are many folks obsessed with pumpkin soup or cheesecake. I will eat pumpkin pie as long as it doesn’t taste ‘pumpkiny’ with whipped cream on top. Let me know if you disagree with me!
The people who pick up cans and bottles with 5 cent deposits on our New York streets want the deposit fee increased to 10 cents. With all the folks coming into our country, there is a lot of competition for cans and bottles with a deposit attached. Do these people vote? Do you think those of us who do vote want the deposit fee increased. The legislators those of us who vote elect need to keep this in mind if it comes before the State Legislature. I am all for recycling but come on. Stop nickel and dimeing the electorate!
Speaking of recycling I hope by now you have visited our Cross County Target and had your order packed up in one of their recyclable shopping bags. Stronger and sturdier than many and they can be reused many times. The trendy people in Yonkers carry their Target purchases and items they carry around with them in a bag in a Target recyclable bag.
You work very hard to earn the money you give to charity. Tuesday was Giving Tuesday, the day many people open their checkbooks and make charitable donations. Make sure before you give money to charity that the charity is legitimate and the money spent being used efficiently and effectively to help those in need. There are so many fraudulent charities out there that the IRS and many states have tools on their websites to help you determine if your charity of choice is legitimate. Make use of those tools before you send a cent.
There are way too many campaign signs littering our streets almost a month after Election Day. For signs legally placed it’s time they be removed.
Chanukah starts the year on Sunday, December 14 and continues to Monday, December 22. Let me be the first to wish our readers who celebrate this joyous holiday a very Happy Chanukah. With what is going on in the Middle East many people wonder what they can do to support Israel.
Go online and Google search PRODUCTS MADE IN ISRAEL. Your purchase of the products which could consist of something as simple as tea biscuits to more elaborate items shows your support for the Israeli people at this critical time. Continue donating to reputable charities supporting Israel. And make sure your menorahs are shining bright in the window of your house or apartment. Take out the electric menorahs you have in the closet for years and safely put them in the window. Decorate your house or apartment door with holiday appropriate decorations. Little ways you can show your support for Israel and the Jewish people. And of course pray that there is no more loss of life and that the tragic events we read in our newspapers and watch on television will come to an end and Peace will reign in the Middle East and throughout the world.
Reach Eric Wolf Schoen at ewschoen@icloud.com.
