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Fake Holidays

Social media has changed many things in our world. One thing that has become more prevalent is a greater number of fake holidays. Most of us celebrate the real holidays like the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. But more and more people have begun to embrace fake holidays.

During my years in radio, we always shined a spotlight on what were once obscure holidays, many of which were only observed on paper. Even today, I celebrate holidays like National Taco Day (tomorrow, October 4th) or National Pencil Day (March 30th). These so-called holidays have been around forever but are usually only mentioned in passing.

But the internet and social media have created a whole new crop of fake holidays that usually have some pop culture reference. I’ve mentioned a few of them here at Kev-Mania, like Rex Manning Day on April 8th. The day originates from a brief mention and major plot point in the movie Empire Records.

Another fake holiday that has become an annual social media obsession happens today, on October 3rd. It’s Mean Girls Day. It’s a day that again has its pop culture origin in the movies, specifically the 2004 teen comedy, Mean Girls starring Lindsay Lohan.

The holiday honors a one-off line uttered during one of the many classroom scenes. In years past, few people would have cared. But now, thanks to social media and meme culture, it’s an annual “celebration.” How we are supposed to celebrate, I have no clue. But of course, since I saw many of my Facebook friends remind me of today’s special significance, I think I’ll check out the movie on-demand.

Happy Mean Girls Day!
Mean Girls movie poster

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Slower Shipping

The US Postal Service just announced that their service is going to get slower and costlier. I wonder just how much slower it can get. I’ve been noticing that many parcels I both ship and receive have been taking much longer. And this isn’t a recent occurrence. This has been ramping up for the last few years. Below is an example:

This picture shows the shipping progress of my quarterly Quip toothbrush subscription from last October. The package originated in Hebron, KY which is a Cincinnati, OH suburb. Hebron is roughly 4.5 hours by car from Nashville. Now I realize the shipping progress isn’t as simple as throwing the package in a car, but this is ludicrous. At first glance, it looks like the shipping system is already broken. This image only shows the first 17 days of a process that took nearly a month to complete.

If the process gets any slower, what’s the point?

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Family Traditions

Every family has its holiday traditions. It’s part of what makes the season so special.  In my wife’s family, one of their traditions is the dressing that goes along with the turkey on Thanksgiving.  Now some people prefer to cook their dressing inside the cavity of the bird, but at that point, I guess it technically becomes stuffing.

The recipe for this special Thanksgiving side dish has been passed down from generation to generation.  As you can see from the well-worn recipe card below, this dish is officially called ‘Mothers Dressing’.  The mother in the title is technically my wife’s maternal grandmother Marilyn.  This was the dressing she served and passed down to my wife’s mother Nancy many years ago.

This year, the making of Mothers Dressing will be handled by my wife, Susan, and my sister-in-law, Alisan. It’s the one job they never wanted at Thanksgiving. And that’s not because they don’t love this dressing. The making of the dressing was always handled by their mother who we lost unexpectedly back in May.

This year, it looks like Mothers Dressing will take on a whole new meaning for the family. It will be tough giving thanks this year, but at least we still have each other and some wonderful memories.

This one’s for you, Nancy…

 

Mother’s Dressing

12 cups cubed bread (dried)
Melt 1 cup butter in a skillet
Brown 3/4 cup chopped onion and 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
2 teaspoons of salt
1 egg beaten
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
Add poultry seasoning to taste

To moisten the dressing, add broth or water as needed

Use regular white bread, purchase bread a few days in advance, and leave out to dry

(Makes 3 quarts for a 12 lb turkey)

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Visit Our Other Locations

In a town, the size of Nashville fast-food restaurants come and go. When one closes it’s really no big deal. You can usually find another location just a few blocks down the road. But in America’s small towns when a fast food joint closes down it’s a BIG deal.

Recently we were visiting my wife’s hometown Rensselaer, IN when we noticed a sad sight. The Arby’s restaurant just down the road from her aunt’s house had closed. And from the looks of things, it wasn’t just closed for remodeling.

It feels like there have been more business closings in Rensselaer the last few years than there have been openings. The McDonald’s just a few doors down is still there, as is the Pizza King a few blocks away, but there’s no doubt that the town is hurting.

We’d actually eaten at this Arby’s a few times through the years and we even knew one of the former managers who went to school with my wife. So we had a connection.

Now I realize it’s just an Arby’s… they’re all over the place. We can still get our roast beef fix just off the interstate. But I still feel sad. Obviously, if business had been better they might still be open. But it’s too late now. And truly, there’s nothing we could have done about it. We don’t live there, and even when we visit we’re usually just visiting with family.

But in America’s small towns the loss of a national franchise is a big deal. I’m all for supporting local business, but when you have chain stores it says your town is still thriving. The loss of the Arby’s may upset people for a few months, but life will go on. But if Walmart ever closes, watch out!

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Mickey Mouse

I have a bunch of friends who are huge Disney-files. They love everything Disney! Now I’ve been to both Disneyland and Disney World, but don’t have a desire to go there every year or two. So I guess you couldn’t say I’m a huge fan.

But even a cynic like me couldn’t pass up this sweet Disney item to go along with my new Google Home assistant. Doesn’t everyone need the Mickey Mouse stand for your Google Home Mini?!

It only costs around $20 and truly makes a statement! But good luck finding one right now. They’re a hot item and may be a little tough to locate if you want to give one as a Christmas gift. But don’t worry. Since it’s a Disney item you’ll soon see them everywhere.

Now if only they could make my Google Home Mini’s wake word be “Hey Mickey” and have it answer in Mickey’s voice. That would be PERFECT!

Ron Swanson Quotes