THANKSGIVING TABLE TALK

THE NEFF ZONE -- BY JIM NEFF

CADILLAC NEWS -- NOVEMBER 22, 2025

Thanksgiving is next Thursday and that means relatives and friends will come together for food and conversation. Lively banter will be the order of the day, so this is a good time to bone up on some topics that are interesting and uncontroversial. 

 

A good start to any gathering is an organized plan. The good news is that this may extend your life. “Being organized, active and helpful could not just make you a better person, it may even help you live longer. On the other hand, being frequently stressed, anxious or moody could be linked to a shorter lifespan. Personality works not just as a general influence but as a set of specific behaviors and attitudes – and those individual characteristics have a measurable impact on longevity.” (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/sep/27/being-organised-and-active-may-be-predictor-of-longer-life-study-finds)

 

As everyone sits around the table, it might be fun to have grandparents recall some dining rules of yesteryear. “They just grew up in a different era, when dining rules and table manners were taken a lot more seriously than they are today.”

 

TastingTable.com lists fourteen of these dining dandies. They include everything from not wearing a hat at the table to always scoop your soup away from you. More at: https://www.tastingtable.com/2007595/old-school-dining-etiquette-rules-forgotten/. 

 

A Thanksgiving tradition in Michigan is watching the Detroit Lions football game. The Lions are actually involved in one of the fastest growing high school sports. “This Spring Michigan Girls High School Flag Football League will kick off it’s fourth season in 2026. Since the league began in 2023 it has grown from four teams during the pilot season to 41 schools and over 1,000 participants in 2025.”

 

The Lions are big into this. “Schools that choose to participate will receive full support, with uniforms and equipment provided by the Detroit Lions, Nike and USA Football. The regular season will span approximately four weeks in the spring.” (https://midmichigannow.com/news/local/detroit-lions-michigan-girls-high-school-flag-football-league-to-begin-4th-season)

 

Keeping the kidlings busy is important this time of year. Perhaps they can play with one of the toys just inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame. The three this year are Battleship, Slime, and Trivial Pursuit. If they want to go old school, the 1998 inductees included Crayola Crayons, Barbie, and Tinkertoys. See all at: https://www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/toy-hall-of-fame/inducted-toys/. 

 

Reader's Digest did an article about Crayola Crayons. “Favorite colors are interesting because they can tell a lot about us, from our current mood to our overall disposition. Crayola decided to poll the world to find out how people feel about color, homing in on different generations and the hues they love most. They compiled the results in the first-ever Global Color Vote, and their findings?” Oddly, three generations shared a liking for Robin's Egg Blue. Check your generation's choices at: https://www.rd.com/article/crayola-color-generation-favorite-2025/. 

 

When it comes to a neat family activity, board games are always a good choice. TheStrategist.com has some advice if children are playing. “Choosing games with short play times to match their natural attention spans is a good place to start. Allocating about two to three minutes per year of age doesn't overly tax their attention spans and end in frustration. And just because they’re young doesn’t mean they can’t make strategic choices.” The website has suggestions for ages two to five at: https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-board-games-for-toddlers-and-preschoolers.html. 

 

A board game that's pretty familiar is Chinese Checkers. That said, it's interesting to know that the game is not Chinese and has no checkers. “It features several marbles that move along a series of holes grouped into a six-pointed star shape. As in traditional checkers, the marbles can move to empty spaces or jump over adjacent pieces, with the goal of getting all the pieces to one side of the board.” 

 

However, Chinese checkers has nothing to do with China. “I’s a variation of a game called Halma and was invented in Germany around 1880. The game arrived in America in the late 1920s under the name Hop Ching checkers, and, later, Chinese star checkers. It was advertised as a game from the Orient for all ages, but this backstory was invented entirely for marketing. Nevertheless, Chinese checkers is the name that stuck in the American lexicon.” (https://historyfacts.com/arts-culture/fact/chinese-checkers-was-invented-in-germany/)

 

When it comes to family gatherings, getting there is part of the fun. However, driving conditions can be a challenge in northern climes. The Michigan Department of Transportation can help in this regard. Its MiDrive map will show you where roads are being plowed, and gives you a look at road conditions with the nifty in-plow cameras. MiDrive can show you where state and contracted county plows are working to clear snow between you and your destination, and how many plows are on the road.” (https://www.mlive.com/weather/2025/11/plow-tracker-see-where-roads-are-being-cleared-check-conditions-with-in-plow-cameras.html)

 

To see all of this and more, just open the website and click the icons on the upper left corner at: https://mdotjboss.state.mi.us/MiDrive/map. “You can search the whole state, or plug in your city or ZIP code to search near your house.”

 

Finally, Thanksgiving marks another tradition here in the Neff Zone. During the holiday season this column will strive to only cover topics that are cheerful and enjoyable. To see what I mean, go to the Neff Zone Holidays Page at: https://www.neffzone.com/holidays/. Have a great and relaxing Thanksgiving.

 

Jim Neff is a local columnist. Read Neff Zone columns online at CadillacNews.com and NeffZone.com/cadillacnews. 

 

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