By the time the holiday actually arrives, the weather should be okay - but getting there hasn't been easy. Rain in our area, snow in New England - and it's all made for a mess of a commute. Not a horrible nightmarish kind of mess - just your typical pain of a mess.
We're all over it tonight at 11, starting with Meteorologist Lee Goldberg, who maps out what you can expect over the next few days. And we're out and about - checking on the planes, trains and automobiles angle of tonight's getaway.
We're also on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, for the annual preps and balloon blow-up for tomorrow' big parade
We're also following developments in that horrible case of a 2-year-old found dead in her car seat near a creek in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Cops are still searching for the toddler's father, who had custody of her during one of his visitations. He is nowhere to be found. Yet.
Also at 11, our Nina Pineda and 7 On Your Side play myth busters about "Black Friday."
Turns out - the day after Thanksgiving, which for many big retailers now begins at the stroke of midnight - isn't always the best day to get deals on your holiday shopping. In fact, it usually isn't.
So what is the best time to get the best bargains? Nina has an eye-opening story tonight.
Finally, two other thoughts about Thanksgiving, aside from the predictable effusion about how we should appreciate all we have to be grateful for. Which we do, so we should.
First, federal authorities today issuing the usual warnings for Americans to be alert this holiday to anything that smells, sounds or acts like a terrorist. And as if on cue, the TSA at Newark Airport today reported finding a knife disguised as a credit card on one passenger who tried to get through security. Meanwhile, my warning to my family - keep your cell phones fully charged; you never know when you'll need them.
Second, and maybe this has something to do with being thankful for having a job. Nokia - the once dominant cell phone company in the world - announced today that it would get rid of 17,000 jobs over the next year - that's nearly a quarter of its workforce.
Young cell phone users might not even know the name Nokia, but it wasn't that long ago that its name and logo were just about everywhere. The company's name sounds Japanese, but Nokia is based in Finland. My introduction to it - aside from buying the phones - was touring the facility in the mid-1990's for a Good Morning America story. Nokia's Helsinki headquarters was something to behold - a kind of progressive Apple-like workplace that appeared to be a type of worker Utopia.
I suspect tonight in Helsinki, Nokia headquarters appears anything but Utopia-like for the workers there.
It can all evaporate so quickly. And so, yes, there's much to be thankful for, right now.
I'm just sayin'.
We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Rob Powers with the night's sports. I hope you can join Sade Baderinwa and me, tonight at 11.
And one more note: I'll be working Thursday and Friday, but this column will go on hiatus until Monday.
Happy holiday.
