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FROM THE DESK OF Ron Cousins
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THE HISTORY BEHIND THANKSGIVINGTRADITIONS T urkey , F ootball , and B lack F riday
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You know when you hear a story that is so funny you just have to share? An older gentleman made his traditional stop for lunch at the local Dairy Queen one day and scoured the menu longer than usual. While placing his order he told the employee he was looking to try something different, but was on a limited budget. His eyes lit up excitedly and said “Ah! I’ve never had one of these before and it shows it’s free — I want to try your weefee.”The order taker searched through the options in front of her on the computer, but could not find the item. Completely confused, she
“There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.” –O. Henry
In our lifetimes, Thanksgiving hasn’t changed all that much. Sure, you may have modernized the menu and begun posting your family photos to Instagram, but the tried-and-true quartet of family, football, grub, and gratitude has been in place for generations. While it’s easy to take holiday traditions as a given, each one has a fascinating history all its own. Christmas trees, Valentine’s chocolate, and other de rigueur activities often have strange, unexpected origins. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the backstories behind some of the essential Thanksgiving traditions. TURKEY Unlike other items on this list, it’s likely that turkey has been a staple of Thanksgivings since the first Thanksgiving in 1621. At the time, the holiday didn’t even have a name, and it was still more than 200 years away from being officially recognized by Abraham Lincoln. There are only two primary source documents detailing the meal between the Massachusetts colonists and the Wampanoag natives, and one of them mentions the famous Thanksgiving bird explicitly. Plymouth County Governor William Bradford described the menu in his journal “Of Plymouth Plantation,”which is one of the earliest accounts of life in Colonial America. “Besides waterfowl,” he wrote, “there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc.” As the colonists moved throughout the continent, they brought turkeys with them. In fact, there was even a specific role, called a “turkey drover,” for the person who would shepherd the birds from one part of the country to another.
asked where on the menu the man was looking. He pointed directly to the
spot that said “Free WiFi”. I got quite the kick out of that, hope you did, too!
Dedicated to your success,
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... Cover story continued
The relationship between turkey and Thanksgiving was well-established by the time the American Revolution began. Alexander Hamilton went so far as to say, “No citizen of the U.S. shall refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day.” According to the National Turkey Federation, more than 40 million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving, so it’s safe to assume that most people are heeding Hamilton’s advice. FOOTBALL American football — or any football, for that matter —wasn’t even a sport when Thanksgiving began. However, the association between the two American icons dates back to the earliest days of the sport in the late 19th century. Harvard and Yale played the first Thanksgiving game in 1876. A decade later, the University of Michigan began a series of games that most historians believe inaugurated the tradition of Thanksgiving football in earnest.
but the NFL is how we get our Thanksgiving football fix these days. The Detroit Lions played in the first professional “Turkey Bowl” in 1934 against the Bears, and the Dallas Cowboys got in on the act in 1966. The teams from Detroit and Dallas still host holiday games to this day. The NFL, never one to miss an opportunity to make money, added a third Thanksgiving game in 2011. One year later, Mark Sanchez of the Jets produced the now-notorious “butt fumble,” laying an egg that even the largest fowl would be envious of. begins earlier and grows more annoying every year — recently, it’s started to encroach on Thanksgiving itself, making you wonder if you should stick around for pie or head off to the mega-retailer for a chance to take advantage of some screaming deals. You may be happy to know that people being irritated about Black Friday goes back as far the tradition itself. BLACK FRIDAY The wildest shopping day on the calendar
Many people assume that the holiday gets in name from retailers going from“red”(having a loss) to“black”(making a profit) on that day, but that’s actually a myth. The termwas coined by Philadelphia police officers to describe the influx of suburban shoppers who flocked to the city, wreaking havoc and forcing them to work long hours. It took only a few years for Black Friday to become an unofficial city holiday. Black Friday in Philadelphia began in the 1950s. A few decades later, in the ‘80s, when America was chock-full of shopping malls, it became a nation-wide phenomenon. Even the explosion of online retail hasn’t slowed the droves of people lining up at insane hours to secure the biggest savings of the season. Thanksgiving is one of the most traditional holidays. Whether you’re content to keep the routine the same or are the type of person who likes to spice things up, it’s fun to know why Thanksgiving looks and feels the same for so many Americans.
College football may have been where the sport’s relationship with Thanksgiving began,
AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE Should Last Beyond Thanksgiving Taking the time to acknowledge who and what you’re grateful for is a Thanksgiving tradition far more important than turkey or football. It’s the cornerstone of the holiday and the reason we feast together in the first place. But when you really think about it, should expressing our gratitude and appreciation for others be limited to one day every year? Of course not! WHY GRATITUDE MATTERS As we get older, it’s easy to succumb to negativity and pessimism— “Kids these days,”“The world isn’t what it used to be,” etc. The crabby grandparent and angry old neighbor are archetypal depictions of later life. But these fictions don’t have to be your reality. Recognizing and acknowledging gratitude will help you take stock of the positive aspects of your life and dwell less on unhappy thoughts. Being grateful has also been linked to significant health benefits. According to gratitude expert and author Dr. Robert A. Emmons, “Preliminary findings suggest that those who regularly practice grateful thinking do reap emotional, physical, and interpersonal benefits. Adults who keep gratitude journals on a regular basis exercise more regularly, report fewer illness symptoms, feel better about their lives as a whole, and are more optimistic about the future.”
HOW TO PRACTICE GRATITUDE In the above quotation from Dr. Emmons, he mentions the practice of keeping a gratitude journal. This activity is a great way to start seeing the world with a more positive, appreciative eye. As often as you can, take a few minutes to write down the acts, people, and moments that you’re grateful for. Some will be big, others small — but all will have an impact on your mood and bring a smile to your face. Before you know it, you’ll have an entire book full of good memories and warm feelings. While keeping a journal is great, there are other ways to go about cultivating and expressing gratitude. The easiest one is simply to say “Thanks” whenever you can. It may seem insignificant, but you’d be surprised what a difference it makes. When you approach the world with the perspective that every day is Thanksgiving, it’s only natural to be grateful. We all have moments when we want to curse the world, especially as we get older, and those experiences are perfectly normal. Just as frequently, though, we have moments that are worth celebrating, often with people who are worth appreciating. Which will you think about more?
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That Morning Cup of Joe Coffee and Its Relationship to Your Health
What’s the first thing you do in the morning? For most of us in the United States, it’s one crucial task: getting that morning cup of joe. Our obsession with coffee is nothing new. A paper entitled“The Consumption of Coffee in the United States,”published July 18, 1861, noted that“the people of the United States habitually consume more coffee than the inhabitants of any other country.”Its popularity has only increased with time; people in the U.S. consume an estimated 400 million cups of coffee a day. Of course, we weren’t the first to find out how great coffee is. Long before anyone in the Americas enjoyed the beverage, legend has it that an Ethiopian goat herder discovered the amazing effects of coffee beans — on his goats. He noticed that after eating“berries”from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic they didn’t want to sleep. News spread around the Arabian Peninsula, and cafes began to pop up, known as“Schools of theWise”for the intellectual conversations that happened there. In addition to coffee’s long-standing popularity, science has found several reasons to give our morning habit the thumbs-up. In 2015, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines evaluated the effects of coffee and caffeine for the first time, concluding that coffee can be part of a healthy lifestyle “along with other behaviors, such as refraining from smoking, consuming a nutritionally balanced diet, maintaining a healthy body weight, and being physically active.”The guidelines cite “strong and consistent evidence” that consuming coffee within the moderate range (3–5 cups per day, or up to 400 mg of caffeine per day) is not associated with an
increased risk of major diseases. In fact, according to observational evidence, caffeine intake may be linked to reduced risk for certain diseases in healthy adults. Scientists think that antioxidants found in coffee, such as polyphenols, might contribute to its positive effects. There’s one major caveat, however. While coffee shows potential benefits when consumed in moderate amounts, the sugar and other additives that many of us like to put in it get a thumbs-down. The Dietary Guidelines also note that health alone isn’t a reason to start drinking caffeine. Folks with blood pressure concerns should be especially careful and should consult their doctor about how much coffee is okay to drink, as studies have shown evidence of increased blood pressure with caffeine consumption.
Everything in moderation, as the saying goes, at least when it comes to caffeine.
Take a Break!
A Simple Brine
FOR SUCCULENT TURKEY
Ingredients
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3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons kosher salt
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2 bay leaves
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1 tablespoon black peppercorns
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3/4 cup sugar
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1 carrot, peeled and diced
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1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
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1 large onion, peeled and diced
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1/4 cup celery, diced
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2 large sprigs thyme
Directions
1. In a large stock pot, bring salt, sugar, and 4 cups water to a boil. Stir until all ingredients are dissolved. 2. Turn off heat and add remaining ingredients. Place brine in the fridge, uncovered, until cold. 3. Add 6 quarts cold water to brine. Add turkey and submerge completely. Brine chilled for up to 72 hours.
Recipe courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Ron PAGE 1 Why We Eat Turkey onThanksgiving PAGE 1 How to GiveThanks Year-Round PAGE 2 A Closer Look at Your Cup of Joe PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 A Simple Brine for Succulent Turkey PAGE 3 The Key to Effective Internal Communications PAGE 4
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LET’S TALK Getting the Most out of Internal Communication
Maintaining the flow of ideas and information between team members is as necessary to a business as the nervous system is to the human body. Internal communication (IC) is what determines how flexible and responsive your company is with day-to-day challenges. In today’s fast-paced, decentralized marketplace, leveraging the right tools and strategies to make IC engaging, effective, and fun has never been more important. Here are a few tips to help you get there. MORE CHATS, FEWER MEETINGS Making IC engaging from a leadership standpoint means taking the time to use the right medium for your message. The last thing you want is to have team members sitting through a meeting thinking, “Couldn’t this have just been an email?” Recognizing what you want to communicate and why are important steps in deciding the best way to deliver information. Saving in-person meetings for big collaborative projects and important announcements will add more weight to
IBM suggests that remote workers are, on average, more engaged and effective than those who come to the office from 9 to 5. With group messaging apps and cloud-based software, you can keep your team on the same page no matter where they are in the world. The best tools to make this possible will depend on your business, but keeping everyone under the same umbrella of programs, such as Google’s G Suite, is a great strategy to start with. MEMES AND GIFS GALORE A company’s culture exists within the ways its team communicates. Having avenues available for employees to blow off steam, share funny stories, and stay abreast of each other’s lives are important parts of improving retention and company morale. Even spicing up a companywide email with a well-placed GIF or pop culture reference can do wonders to give your IC a voice unique to the culture and values of your company. Finding the styles and methods of communication that best fit your company takes time, but it’s worth it. Not only will creating your own communication style ensure that time and resources are used effectively, but it will also ensure that your team has a voice. Nailing this key aspect of your business will allow everything else to run far more smoothly.
those moments while allowing communications of lesser magnitude to be handled quickly and efficiently over email and instant messaging. INTERNAL, YET GLOBAL Remote work is becoming more and more common — and it’s a good thing. Research conducted by
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