Hopefully you will be able to spend lots of time today with your family and loved ones. And if you can't do that then perhaps you can call them or email/text them. Or if they've passed on then maybe you can take a few moments to remember the good times that you had with them while they were here. Although this holiday has become an excellent excuse to eat your way into a semi-diabetic coma it should really just be about being happy for what you have in life and enjoying the people you know and/or love. Because even though some of those people can get on your last nerve from time to time and make you lose your religion your life wouldn't be the same without them, would it. So yes at many family get togethers there will be the exact same people telling the exact same unfunny jokes or boring stories that they told last year (and for every year before that). It's what they do. There will be the same dodgy cousins with brand new get rick quick schemes or the peripatetic in-laws that just want to drop off their kid(s) at your house for Thanksgiving dinner while they go off to do evidently more interesting things. There might even be the muleheaded uncle who for purely contrarian and spiteful reasons decides that Thanksgiving is the perfect time to insult some other relative's deeply held religious or political beliefs. But that's all part of the charm. I remember back in the day we used to have Thanksgiving dinner at my paternal grandparents' home. They had a lot of children so as a result I have a boatload of cousins. For a while we kids had to eat in the basement at the children's table. Looking back I don't really understand how that many people ever fit in one house. But in any event we did. And I miss those days. So hopefully you will be somewhere today having experiences that become memories which you and yours will enjoy in later years. And if by chance you are a tumbling leaf far away from kith and kin remember that there are all sorts of nearby homeless shelters, soup kitchens and other institutions devoted to helping the less fortunate among us that could use your assistance on this day especially. Not everyone is blessed to be able to spend the entire day cooking, eating, attending parades, talking or watching football. Some folks are trying to decide where they can sleep, how to stay warm or if they will be able to eat. So if you have some time or resources and no family to spend them on today keep in mind there are numerous people who would be delighted to have your help. In any event everyone here at The Urban Politico hopes you have a great day!