Chipping Away a Holiday

    On Thanksgiving morning I frowned.
    A heap of advertising inserts spilled out from the newspaper. Some of them publicized shopping hours for later in the day.
    That’s right, shopping on Thanksgiving. Which means employees working instead of relaxing with families. And people fixating on so called ‘doorbuster’ sales.
    Why can't retailers exercise restraint? They've already conditioned millions of people to shop on the following day, nicknamed Black Friday, an orgy of spending (of which I refuse to participate).
    What's happening is an encroachment on a cherished holiday. Shopping hours are confined to the evening, that way, the Thanksgiving dinner is not affected. People will be less apt to raise a stink.
    But that doesn’t make it right. In future years, those shopping hours might increase on Thanksgiving. The chipping away is gradual and insidious.
    Holidays are vulnerable to encroachments by monied interests.

Giving Thanks

I photographed the Mayflower while it passed through the Cape Cod Canal.

    Imagine the misery. Those early Pilgrims, crammed aboard the Mayflower, suffered from an assortment of diseases during the winter of 1620/1621. It happened while they were anchored off the coast of Massachusetts. Half of them perished.
    Imagine the relief. Half a year later they had built homes on land. Crops where being harvested. No wonder they held a celebration. Turkey meat was devoured. It was our nation’s first Thanksgiving.
    On Thursday—Thanksgiving—that tradition continues. My family will eat turkey. So will my fellow Americans.
    Will they also thank God for their blessings? Some people won’t. But I am confident that millions of Americans will recite a grace before eating their meals. And that’s a tradition repeated every day.

Radio Free Worksite

A workman paints my garage.

    The boss prohibited his workers from listening to radios while on the job. They were three men. They painted my house last week.
    Past experiences brought about the ‘no radios’ policy. The boss had received criticism from customers. They objected to profanity blasting from painters’ radios. The painters had listened to hip hop and rap.
    It’s easy to assume that swearing is pervasive in our culture. Television shows perpetuate this assumption. Often, actors utter dialogue that is laced with profanity.
    But in reality, lots of people object to profanity.

Projecting Charisma

    When I photographed Donald Trump, his flamboyance was on display. The location was a restaurant in New Hampshire. He arrived in a stretch limousine. If my memory serves me well, no other passengers sat inside the car.
    His charisma was obvious. People thronged to him. At the time, he wasn't even a candidate.
    The same reaction occurred when I first photographed Barack Obama. He showed up at a bookstore event. He wasn't yet a candidate. People seemed in awe of him.
    I photographed Mother Teresa, another person regarded as charismatic. She smiled often. Her expression came across as genuine.
    I've looked up the traits of charismatic people. One trait jumped out: Charismatic people smile a lot. And their smiles don't appear fake, even if those smiles in reality aren't sincere. Sure, Trump often scowls. But up close and personal, he also smiles. So does Obama.
    Charisma can be acquired. That means smiling often and in a manner that appears natural.