Happy Almost-Thanksgiving, hot weenie! | Things I’ve Learned From Strangers

Happy Almost-Thanksgiving! To me, based on my celebrations, Thanksgiving feels like a fun little merger that the President of Halloween and the President of Christmas made up.

I feel like the President of Christmas is probably Santa, but maybe it’s Mrs. Claus. I’m not quite sure who the President of Halloween would be, though — maybe the person who invented Party City? 

I do love Christmas, but I am happy to hold off on singing, “Santa Baby” for a bit longer in order to have some Thanksgiving fun. Because Thanksgiving is so much fun! You get to make people go around the table and thank you for a bunch of things! What other day can you do that?

I’ve always loved visiting my grandma’s town during the holidays. She’s from Riverside, Rhode Island and they’ve got a great bit of townie pride in that corner of the world — the heart of the town beats to a purely New England drum. 

Everybody is treated like family. Granted, one misstep and you’ll be treated more like an estranged cousin, but family nonetheless. 

Imagine entering a bakery and getting samples thrown at you by a little old lady in a floral apron. Imagine stopping at the hot weenie shop (not the same as a hot dog, try it and have your mind blown) and getting into a conversation with the burly guy behind the counter about his nephew’s dance recital. Imagine stopping to get pizza and – you know what, that’s a lot of food spots. 

The being-treated-like-family thing goes for any kind of shop, really. Apparently I just frequent food shops more than other shops. 

You know, during the holidays, I don’t feel like anyone is really a stranger. I think it’s easier for us to come together when we are all struggling to get the turkey at the last minute or race to find the final gift on the list. I know that sounds bleak when the holidays are supposed to be fun. But, yeah, newsflash: The holidays can be stressful. And you know what’s really bleak, going through that alone. 

So maybe you need to shed a tear to the barista about how expensive your plane ticket home is. 

Or maybe you need to rant to the butcher for a second about how your son eats all the stuffing and you need to make extra this year.

Or maybe you’re mentally preparing for the vow of silence you’ll have to take if the Patriots lose and you need to chat with your neighbor about the weather for a bit longer in order to get all your talking out. 

I really believe that people open their arms to each other during this season because we all know that everyone needs someone right now. 

And some people don’t have people. 

So if you work at a bakery, give out a sample to someone who looks like they need a cookie (possibly in a stealthy way, when your manager isn’t looking). And if you work at a hot weenie shop – let me know and I’ll give you my address and you can ship me some because I haven’t been to my grandma’s in a few weeks. 

Wait, come to think of it, weenies probably don’t ship very well. That’s definitely going to be a bit of an issue. I mean, is there a way to expedite the shipping so I can get them the same day — you know what, this is getting away from me. Back to the point. 

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving. I hope it is filled with family and friends. But, more than that, I hope you won’t be a stranger. I hope you’ll smile at someone on the street or start a conversation with the person next to you on your train ride home or mail me a weenie. Damn it! I brought up the hot weenies again, I really didn’t mean to. 

Anyways, Happy Almost-Thanksgiving, everyone. And please, if you have any idea who the President of Halloween might be, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email. I’m having trouble brainstorming and I foresee it keeping me up at night.