The Mayor’s Corner 11/21/2018

Mayor Diana Thomas

This is my first long distance article and, unfortunately, will not give lots of information about the activities in the City because I am currently in Cambridge, United Kingdom to visit our kids and to stay with my granddaughter while her folks are gone for six days.

My trip getting here was a huge reminder why I live in a small town in Idaho. The flight to London is about 13 hours long, usually. Due to forces far beyond my control, I arrived in Cambridge about 26 hours after I left home. My flight was scheduled from Boise to Seattle to London arriving in London by 11:30 am the following day. Instead, I arrived in London at 9 pm the following day and had traveled to Salt Lake City, JFK Airport in New York and then London with lay-overs every where plus a 4 hour wait getting out of Boise. What was the cause? Snow in the east. Even with all the technology available these days, the airline had somehow failed to notify travelers before they got to the airport that the flight to connect to Seattle would not arrive in time to make any connections thus requiring delays and huge changes.

The toughest part is what came across as the lack of customer service by some of the folks at the big airline and total lack of any power to change the system or make it more caring. It makes you want to have a class on “look, folks”. It certainly puts one in one’s place and keeps one humble. But I made it safely with all the bumps in the road and I am happy to be here and am so happy I lived most of my life in Weiser, Idaho.

The Christmas season is very apparent here too. Lights and decorations adorn many homes and most businesses. What is missing? There are no Thanksgiving displays anywhere. The question arises to some, why. Well, we sometimes forget that Thanksgiving is our holiday celebrating the pilgrims survival and appearance in the new world and their thankfulness. Where did they come from? Ahhh, England, so England does not celebration that trip.

Living in “our own” world we sometimes forget how big and varied “the” world is. They have lots of holidays over here but they aren’t exactly like ours or at the same times. My granddaughter will be in school on our Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after.

There is one tradition we have on the day after Thanksgiving most of the folks here celebrate with us. Black Friday! There are advertisements everywhere to join in spending one’s money for Christmas presents on the day after a holiday they don’t celebrate. Funny but interesting. I’m sure I can enjoy it just fine.

Don’t forget our local businesses are having ‘small business Saturday, November 24th. Be sure to go down and support them. If more people would spend $50 a month in our local businesses it would help sustain them and encourage new businesses to join them on our main streets.

I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving, I know I will even if the dinner is smaller. If you don’t have somewhere to go, remember you do. The Weiser Senior and Community Center will be the site of the Annual Free Community Thanksgiving Dinner from noon till 4 pm. They also have take-out but if possible, don’t eat alone. Join the family at the Center. Thank you, Sue, Dana, Toby, family and volunteers. Happy Thanksgiving from Cambridge, UK.