This Thanksgiving, hear from some of the folks on the 97.9 The Hill staff as the holiday season begins proper! As the rubber hits the road and the turkey hits the table, we’d like to share some of what Thanksgiving means to us. Safe travels and happy Thanksgiving to all!
Aaron Keck, host of “This Morning With Aaron Keck”
What I love about Thanksgiving is how we can think about it differently based on how we pronounce the word.
I’m from Michigan, and when we say “Thanksgiving” in the north we emphasize the last part: “thanks-GIVING.” Pronounced that way, it’s a holiday about giving, about generosity, about sharing abundance — a fitting holiday-season bookend with Christmas, which has the same vibe. Here in the south, y’all hit the first part: “THANKS-giving.” When you pronounce it that way, it becomes a holiday about gratitude, about appreciation — slightly different, but just as worthwhile.
So either way: happy Thanks, and happy Giving, to one and all.
Aubrey Williams, General Manager
Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday. The idea that we set aside a day to just give thanks is, in essence, so beautiful. And unlike Christmas, there is less pressure. It’s just a day. You don’t have to buy STUFF or receive STUFF. You can just be. With the ones you love, taking stock of what matters most. This year I will be counting my blessings, of which there are so many.
My mother grew up on a turkey farm in southern Maryland, and therefore, turkey is never on the menu for us on Thanksgiving. But that’s ok! With so many other delicious foods to choose from, and talented cooks in my family, we always eat well and enjoy a varied culinary experience from year to year.
I am thankful for my home, my beautiful family (including our ridiculous hound dog), my wonderful friends, my talented and smart co-workers who make my workdays interesting and fulfilling.
This Thanksgiving I am sending my love and best wishes to this lovely community I call home.
Brighton McConnell, News Director
Thanksgiving has long been one of my favorite holidays (perhaps my favorite of the winter), and in recent years, I’ve spent more of them with my extended family. One of their traditions with the Thanksgiving dinner has quickly become one of my favorite, silly inclusions.
There can be many stars to a Thanksgiving meal, with so many components and everyone having different options for their plate. But one element that never goes uneaten for me? The humble crescent roll. Pillowy bread from Pillsbury might not be deemed essential to many folks, but for me, it’s the perfect starter and perfect complement to everything else on the plate. It knows its place in the pecking order, but is still a delight each time you take a bite. Sure, it’s just bread. Sure, it comes from a tube. But I’d be remiss not to take time and honor the glorious crescent roll and its inclusion in my Thanksgiving each year.
Jordan Beyle, Office Coordinator
For me, Thanksgiving means family. It means getting together for a huge, delicious lunch. It’s laughter with my cousins while we played Apples to Apples (not so appropriately). It’s the first holiday of the season and truthfully, it does mean letting the excitement for Christmas begin as we would help my grandparents put up their tree. It would dissolve into more laughs as my cousins and I would always try to see who we could pin the longest tail of ornament hooks on before they noticed. Thanksgiving is the start of more family time to close the year and that is something I’d never trade. Happy Thanksgiving!
Michael Koh, Sports Reporter
One of the reasons I love Thanksgiving is that it’s sort of the official start to the holiday season (some people might say it’s Halloween, but they’re wrong). I always love waking up that Thursday morning and seeing that my mom already has the Macy’s Parade on TV, which she keeps on despite my brothers and I wanting to watch football. Speaking of my brothers, we always went over to our neighbor’s big yard and played football in the mornings while mom was cooking. There were only three of us, so some improvisation was required. Those were the days when all of us were young and limber. Now, I think that game would result in some pulled hamstrings and busted knees. And then of course, it was food time! I hold those days near and dear to my heart, especially since my brothers are scattered across the country now and all three of us haven’t all been back home in a long time. I’m thankful I can still go home every year without having to bother with airports and delays. Here’s to another Happy Holiday season!
Nicki Morse, Music and Program Manager
Thanksgiving by far is my favorite day of the year. It’s a no pressure celebration of friends, family and enjoying good food together. I enjoy cooking so there isn’t the stress of preparing the meal for me because half of the day is about the cooking and the smells. I wish I could narrow down my favorite thing but I like the whole thing… it’s the combination of flavors that make up the meal for me. This year I’ve planned so much food I think I will need to create “stations.” It’s truly the one day of the year I over do it where food is concerned. The leftovers are part of it too… all the creative ways to repurpose what’s left of the meal. Spending time with friends and family you’re comfortable with is also key to help keep the festivities stress free. Happy Thanksgiving, I hope you and yours have the best day!
Victor Lewis, Digital Content Editor
Thanksgiving will forever play second fiddle to Christmas, in my book, but both holidays accomplish one thing that no other celebration does: bringing folks together. Both Christmas and Thanksgiving can be travel-heavy holidays, full of negotiated venue trade-offs and requests for oven/fridge space before things really get going.
I’ve always enjoyed the feel of friends and family coming from near and far to share updates and stories from the past year, flex on each other through covered dishes and casseroles, and spend a little quality time that most of us probably dread in the lead-up but are grateful for by evening’s end. This year, I’m thankful for another opportunity to have some of my great-aunt’s table bread and my mother’s sweet potato pie, and I hope your holiday is everything you need it to be and more. Happy Thanksgiving!
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