Well, we survived… the scales verify it, unfortunately! If that is any indication, the holiday meal was a great success.
I have often commented in this space about the family growing and the difficulty of merging everyone’s busy schedules to have family get-to-gathers. Thanksgiving Day was no exception but, in the end, everything worked out well.
We gathered at Krystal’s with everyone contributing to the extensive meal of ham and turkey with loads of trimmings. No such celebration would be complete without a delicious meal, and we certainly had one. In fact, we probably could have fed an additional two dozen guests if they had showed up unexpectedly.
As it was, there were nearly 40 of us. It was a great time, playing with the grandkids, watching football and eating till I could hardly move. Needless to say… I am truly thankful!
I found time on Friday and Saturday to clean on my garage… all I need is a couple more months to get the job done. I did make headway and I spent some relaxing time giving my motorcycle some of the attention it so desperately needs. That too, will take several more sessions, but I am looking forward to it.
Before I left the office for the holiday break, I received a news release Tuesday at 3:52 p.m. from the Governor’s office. The article contained news of Gov. Justice declaring a half day holiday beginning Wednesday at noon.
Now don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that everyone should have time to spend with their families during holidays. But in this case, I think it is a tremendous injustice to the taxpayers of our state to declare a holiday hours before it is set to occur. Besides, all state and county employees were already scheduled to be off on Friday after Thanksgiving.
There must be more thought go into such a move that cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages and benefits. Why were the taxpayers not given more notice to the closing of state and county agencies? Was the move an, off the cuff, political move? There are literally dozens of questions that are unanswered concerning how this additional paid time off came to be and why the public was not better informed, so they could plan their activities. Wonder how many people went to the courthouse to pay taxes, or went to the DMV to renew their licenses, only to find the doors locked? Of course we will never know.
Taxpayers should be considered in making these decisions, and not as an afterthought.
