CLEOEJACKSONIII.COM
  • My Home Page
  • My Life and Ministry
  • My Ongoing Thoughts
  • My Favorite Bible Verses
  • My Favorite Stories
  • My Favorite Jokes
  • My Favorite Quotations
  • My Favorite Web Links
  • My Contact Info
"Helping Others Communicate"

UP FOR DISCUSSION

11/25/2021

 
“Looking for something to talk about around the Thanksgiving Day table to keep Uncle Eddie's stories from becoming a pre-tryptophan snoozer? FOX Weather has you covered! Every day, we go beyond the headlines to find the weird, the ugly and what everyone will be talking about in the weather world. 

So, before your grab your first plate of stuffing or that slice of pumpkin pie, make sure you have the FOX Weather app open and ready to make small talk with the stories that could keep your relatives blabbering well beyond dinner's first helping.”


Thus began the intriguing article from www.FoxWeather.com titled:  7 Thanksgiving Day Table Conversation Starters From FOX Weather:  From The Weird To The Ugly, FOX Weather Has You Covered With Stories That Are Guaranteed To Light Up Any Holiday Table.

The list included the following:

1. The first story to read about comes from the State of Washington, where a photographer encountered something that looked like it came out of a Ghostbusters movie.  This was followed by a link to a story of a fungus glowing green on a dead tree in the dark along Washington's Kalaloch Beach back on Nov. 19, 2021, all brought about by a lunar eclipse.

2. You can always count on a good Florida story to keep the dinner conversation alive. And while we don't have any galleries of mug shots to scroll through, what a child found in a drain could be just as surprising.  The link attached led to an article showing a huge alligator in a sewer drain.

3. Keeping on the living theme, biologists put out their annual warning regarding fuzzy caterpillars. Why you have a reason to run away from not only your Aunt Mary, but these creatures too: from the creatures.  The succeeding link takes you to a story about poisonous fuzzy caterpillars.

4. If the caterpillar warning wasn't alarming enough, did you know NASA is working on a plan to protect Earth from a giant asteroid?  The attached link explains why facing up to it is not as simple as just sending Bruce Willis up there and blow it up like in the movie "Armageddon".

5. If sports are more your theme, you can't go wrong with a good football story. Do you know why NFL games are largely played on Sundays?  Here, the link attached leads to an article explaining why money, television and a Congressional act helped cue the rise of football weekends as we know them.
 

6. It was 81 years ago this month that a windstorm led to the demise of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge – also known as "Galloping Gertie". No humans were killed during the collapse, but the event did claim a life: Tubby, a three-legged black Cocker Spaniel that remained trapped in his car as the bridge wobbled, then fell.  The attached link reveals the three heroic attempts to save him first.
 

7. Keeping on the history theme, this story will have any political novice talking. During the energy crisis of the 1970s, President Richard Nixon asked Americans to keep their cool - literally.  This last time, the link connects to an article about what was unique about the thermostat back in the day.

Anticipating that even these seven previous stories may not get one through an entire meal, FOX Weather included even more story links that one could keep handy in case of a “conversation emergency”:


8. Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes: What are you actually eating on Thanksgiving?
9. How a volcano gave birth to ‘Frankenstein’
10. We all love the movie ‘Twister,’ but is it scientifically accurate?
11. Do hot drinks really warm you up on cold days?
12. What causes turbulence and why you shouldn't be afraid of it
13. Gobble Gossip: No, turkeys don't drown looking skyward in the rain

14. Paw-lickin’ good: This bear caught breaking and entering for KFC

The article concluded with the following tidbit: 

“If you are still looking for stories to avoid the gravy boat being thrown across the table, FOX Weather has entire sections devoted to keeping you the most informed person on Earth. Check out our Learn, Earth & Space and Lifestyle sections for more!”


I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the article and the various links detailing greater information and explanation.  And in truth, I may well bring up one or two of these intriguing facts/stories around the family table this Thanksgiving.

But I would be remiss if I did not point out the obvious.  After all, what is missing from this list if not the most appropriate thing for discussion around the table this weekend?  Surely the first thing on the list should be the things we are thankful for as individuals, as families, and as citizens of the greatest country in the history of the world!
  

I think I will save this list for Thanksgiving “Table Talk” with my family.  But I will be renumbering them from items 1-14 to items 8 through 21.  I will do this because I plan on replacing the first seven items with the top seven things that I am especially thankful for this year:


1. My physical life and health.
2. My eternal salvation, and all its associated spiritual blessings.
3. My parents and the upbringing they gave me.
4. My precious wife (and all those who wrought her), plus all she means to me.
5. My children and grandchildren, and the blessings they all are to me.
6. My political freedoms as an American citizen.

7. My material blessings.

King David of old understood this well.  As he puts it in Psalm 103 (verses 1-5, CEV):

1With all my heart I praise the LORD, and with all that I am I praise his holy name! 2With all my heart I praise the LORD! I will never forget how kind he has been. 3The LORD forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick, 4and protects us from death. His kindness and love are a crown on our heads. 5Each day that we live, he provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle.

I’m glad David was up for discussing such things.  I pray I will always be as well.  Will you?

ARTICLE SOURCE:  https://www.foxweather.com/lifestyle/7-thanksgiving-day-table-conversation-starters-from-fox-weather.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:  https://biblehub.com/cev/psalms/103.htm.

Comments are closed.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All