And how do YOU Celebrate Thanksgiving?

Bat Boy was spotted on a turkey farm celebrating Thanksgiving early.
Sam Collins, owner of Collins Turkeys, Inc. farm, was out early this morning getting the feed ready when he heard an odd noise out in the field. “It sounded like some kind of hoopla was going on,” Collins said.

Farmer Sam grabbed his rifle and hurried over, expecting to find a fox harrassing the birds. But he was in for a much bigger surprise.

“A little boy in jean shorts was out in the field all by his lonesome. When he heard me coming, he ran and leaned against a tree, acting real casual like. I might have believed him ‘cept he tried whistling and a bunch of turkey feathers came out of his mouth!”

Want to Give Thanks? Be Careful How You Do It. See how one person can ruin everyone's fun

At various times in every school year I read an article about how a group of people are offended, thus changing the dynamic of Holidays, events, recreational activities and more. From the universal banning of dodge-ball to what now is the end of decades old traditions, in this case the Thanksgiving play at Condit Elementary in where else? California.

Some people game our systems to ruin everyone's fun. In this case, some = one. One person has objected and due to her own self-absorbed belief, and her background in education, she has turned a school district on its heels to almost end a children's Thanksgiving celebration. What is her complaint?

Ironically the complaint is over a reenactment of a historically accurate event where two cultures put aside their differences to share thanks. Know what it is? Yes, perhaps the most beloved holiday in the U.S., Thanksgiving. Does this really sink in? An event with a beautiful message of coming together and forgetting differences is challenged as of all things, racist. Michelle Raheja is offended on behalf of her child that any child should have to wear any handmade paper bonnets or head dresses. Why? According to Michelle Raheja, "I'm sure you can appreciate the inappropriateness of asking children to dress up like slaves (and kind slave masters), or Jews (and friendly Nazis), or members of any other racial minority group who has struggled in our nation's history." Earth to Michelle, The story of Thanksgiving is not a racial insult or slur. It's not just historically accurate, it's a celebration of people with differences coming together as one. To compare it to Slavery or Nazi oppression is your own warped perception you have no right to foist on others.

The writers of this LA Times article seem to take a politically correct position (gee what a surprise) using the word 'some' to describe detractors of the event. The reality is that one person (Michelle Raheja) almost ended the event. Thankfully the involved parents in the school rallied together to fight for the children's right to hold the event.

While the one woman in question has the bloodline of the Seneca Indian's, the reality is the Pilgrims came together with the Indians. This celebration is in no way an insult to any Indian.

But the greater question is this? Is this woman even really offended? I mean really? How many of us have ever had an insult thrown at us that we didn't get over.

This one woman, Michelle Raheja (an English Professor), did in fact get two others to rally behind her for support. Both were of course involved as teachers, one at a local university and the other a former professor. This invites a whole other conversation about the narcissistic attitude of so called intellectuals simply because they have a degree.

We are not talking about equal rights for women or blacks or even how to promote free range chickens. It is one person that made a decision to game the system to ruin everyone's fun. At one point a court must set precedent for common sense. In the meantime, I say if you don't agree with a school event, stay home. Take your kid to the mall, a ball game, the park or what have you. And good for the many people that want to stand up to this one person.

Here is the original LA Times article on the matter.

Thanksgiving Advice From Gwyneth Paltrow!

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has been dipping her hand into the cooking world lately. Gwyneth had been traveling around Europe (Spain) sampling the local delicacies with chef Mario Batali. Didn't they write some sort of little book together or something, too? Well, she just started a website called GOOP. She sends out a newsletter via GOOP, and the latest entry is about preparing Thanksgiving dinner. How timely! She writes:

"Thanksgiving is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday. I love when everyone comes together and celebrates the idea of gratitude, something we all mean to do every day, but seem to lose sight of most of the time. I also love the cooking – the days of planning and chopping and basting. This year, I decided to work out three variations on the traditional meal: a big group, a small gathering and a cozy dinner for two." She then includes some recipes, you'll have to check out her new website for more! We agree with her though, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving: Little Known Facts About Turkey Day

What does Thanksgiving mean to you? For me it's a day of over eating and football. But there's a lot more to this day then a turkey and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

As you probably learned in elementary school, the first Thanksgiving took place in the fall of 1621. Only half of the original Mayflower Pilgrims had survived by the fall. Thankful to be alive, they held a three day feast and invited the the neighboring Wampanoag Indians to the celebration. The pilgrims had a jovial celebration thanks to the beer they brought with them from England.

Everyone was partied out from that first celebration, so Thanksgiving took big break until George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving Day Proclamation in 1989.

Strangely as it may seem, there wasn't a set day for Thanksgiving until 1863. Up until then the president would issue a proclamation each year detailing what day the holiday would be observed. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the last Thursday of November.

For some reason no one respected Lincoln's proclamation after his death, and the country went back to the old yearly proclamation system until 1939. Franklin D. Roosevelt returned the country to the fourth Thursday in November standard because it would lengthen the Christmas shopping season and hopefully boost the economy. In 1941, congress passed a proclamation officially setting in stone that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

But that's just us. Canada celebrates Thanksgiving too, but on the second Monday in October.

But what about the traditions?

No one really knows why we eat turkey on Thanksgiving, but since 1621 that has been the tradition. Approximately 91% of people eat turkey adding up to the sale of over 280 million turkeys for Thanksgiving celebrations. That's about 7.3 billion pounds of turkey. What do the other people eat? On the west coast the Dungeness crab is a popular alternative to turkey.

Archeologists have found evidence that turkeys were roaming the United States 10 million years ago. According to the Guinness Book of World Records the largest turkey weighed 86 lbs. It won the Heaviest Turkey competition in London on December 12, 1989.

Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird, not the eagle. A wild turkey can run up to 20 mph if spooked. They can also burst into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds.

Probably the strangest thing you've heard about turkey is that it contains tryptophan, a natural sedative. While it is true that turkey contains tryptophan, it's a myth that you get sleepy from eating it. Unfortunately it's not as simple as that. Here's how it works:

Tryptophan is an amino acid that helps your body produce serotonin, a calming agent in the brain that plays a key role in sleep. So that seems simple enough? Tryptophan produces chemicals that make you sleepy so that is why everyone takes their post-dinner nap on Turkey Day. Wrong.

Pharmaceutical companies, learning that the chemical produced serotonin, started producing medication in the 1980s for insomniacs. In 1990 the FDA banned tryptophan supplements because the chemical lead to severe muscle pain and even death. While tryptophan does produce serotonin it takes a large of the amino acid to produce enough to knock you out. Unfortunately, that amount can cause serious health problems.

Here's why tryptophan in turkey doesn't make you sleepy. Number 1: Tryptophan levels in turkey are minimal, almost unrecognizable. Number 2: Tryptophan only works well on an empty stomach. When you have food in your system tryptophan has to compete with all the other amino acids in your system, so an even less amount makes it to your brain.

Sorry guys but this is just an urban legend. The real reason you get sleepy is simple. You over eat. The average meal contains 3000 calories, most of which are carbohydrates. This means your body is working overtime to digest everything causing that post-meal lethargy.

Alright, but there's more to Thanksgiving than turkey. There's also the Macy's Parade, which has been held annually since 1920. It's so prominent in New York that Thanksgiving is referred to in NYC as Macy's Day. The end of the parade signals the beginning of the Christmas Season, consummated by Black Friday where shoppers officially begin the holiday rush.

The Thanksgiving Classic football game was first organized by the Detroit Lions in 1920 to boost ticket sales. Since then teams traditionally wear throwback jerseys to commemorate their team's history.

The day before Thanksgiving is the largest day in for bar sales in the United States. New Years Eve holds a close second.

Around 78% of employees get paid leave Wednesday through Friday of Thanksgiving Week. It is also one of the busiest travel periods of the year.

So here are some little known things about a well known holiday. You can wow you're relatives at the table with your knowledge of the holiday. Just make sure you do some exercise the next day as the average American eats a day and a half worth of calories in one meal. It would be a good idea to join the holiday shopping rush on Black Friday. 10 hours should do it. Shopping burns 300 calories an hour.

Britney and Miley???

InTouch reports that Billy Ray Cyrus has invited Brit to spend Thanksgiving dinner with the Cyrus family this year. Apparently, Miley is big fan of Brit and would love to " reach out" to the trouble pop wreck. Britney has accepted the dinner offer and confirmed that she would attend and spend Thanksgiving with the Cyrus family. Although, these days darling Britney does not have the best attendance record, so I am going to sit back and have my doubts that this dinner party will ever come to be! Who knows, stranger things have happened, now pass the mashed potatoes, ya'all!