By Michael Bielawski

This year’s Thanksgiving could have record travel, snowy weather, and lots of ‘nonpolitical’ conversations at dinner tables across America.

There is unprecedented public traveling expected for this Thanksgiving. AAA projects 79.9 million travelers will head 50 miles or more from home over the travel period.

The projection is for nearly 80 million travelers, an increase of 1.7 million people compared to last year, and 2 million more than in 2019. It’s the “busiest Thanksgiving ever” says the Associated Press.

Winter for Thanksgiving?

Reports are that there is a winter storm watch is in effect starting late Wednesday night through late Thanksgiving night, with potential for heavy snow.

The Burlington Free Press reports, “The worst of the storm is expected to be in Southern Vermont, with Orange, Eastern Rutland, Eastern Windsor, Western Rutland, and Western Windsor Counties under the winter storm watch advisory. Up to 7 inches of snow is possible, according to the warning.”

Understaffed and striking airports?

A story by Morning Rush details some of what’s expected for travel.

“Today marks an unprecedented surge in air travel, with the FAA reporting over 50,000 flights ferrying passengers to their Thanksgiving destinations. The remarkable volume of air traffic is expected to stretch the agency’s resources thin, according to FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker. In the face of potential staff shortages, the FAA is prepared to regulate traffic flow to ensure safety remains paramount.”

The largest airports in both New Hampshire and Vermont have direct flights to North Carolina’s Charlotte Douglas Airport where airport workers went on strike recently, according to the Charlotte Observer.

No MAGA/BLM hats etc. at the table

The LATimes writes that most Americans in polls intend to try and avoid politics when meeting at the table.

“When visiting family for Thanksgiving, we all know better than to talk about the election, politics, or anything that might trigger a MAGA screed or ultra-lefty tirade from those we are finding harder and harder to love,” they write.

The author expresses skepticism that many will succeed.

“One slip and you’ve triggered a mini culture war, so we’re here to help with a few tips and suggestions. Let’s start with an easy one, such as wondering aloud if the stuffing is gluten-free.”

Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving painting in Vermont

An online post by @contempra_inn notes that a famous Thanksgiving painting is located within the Green Mountain State.

“Norman Rockwell’s #Thanksgiving published in the March 6, 1943 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. All of the people in the picture were friends and family of Rockwell in Arlington, Vermont, who were photographed individually and painted into the scene.”

Don’t eat the raccoon?

Some highlights from a Reader’s Digest report on fun facts about Thanksgiving include that in November of 1926, Vinnie Joyce from Nitta Yuma, Mississippi, sent President Coolidge a raccoon for dinner. Coolidge did not eat the raccoon, rather he kept it as a pet and named it Rebecca.

Another fun bit is that the food on the first Thanksgiving likely was not what we eat today. The report states, “In fact, potatoes weren’t grown in North America yet, and cranberry sauce wouldn’t be invented for 50 more years. What was most likely on the first Thanksgiving menu? Indigenous foods like lobster, swan, mussels, venison, and corn porridge.”

The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle