As we enter into the final two months of 2022, we begin to plan for the upcoming holidays and the hustle and bustle that they entail.  It also offers us in the CFMC time to look back on the year and forward to what we want to accomplish in the year ahead.  We will begin this process at our November 19 CFMC members’ meeting.  Due to the pandemic, we have not had an all-member meeting recently, so I encourage all members to consider attending.  We will be discussing a number of items, including the process for filling vacant officer and committee chair positions, plans for our January holiday party and annual meeting, and very important, a discussion of planning for club events for 2023.  We need member input into reigniting interest in identifying and hosting CFMC events.  In addition, the meeting will be an opportunity for newer members to meet the “ole timers” of our club.

Thanks to Gina Schiess who volunteered to find a venue for our gathering.  The location of our meeting is the Leland Smokehouse, in front of the Waterford entrance, in Leland.  We will gather at 11:30 AM in a private room which we have reserved for two hours, so the meeting should be over by 1:30 PM.  An agenda will be sent out prior to the meeting.  Additional details are included in this month’s Ragtop Tales.

November brings us two very important holidays.  Veterans Day on November 11, is our opportunity to recognize and thank all those who have served and currently serve in our armed forces.  Let’s not forget to thank these individuals whose service and sacrifice have preserved the freedoms that we all enjoy as Americans.  I want to personally thank our CFMC members, and their families, who have served in our Armed Services for their service, sacrifice and commitment to defending and protecting the liberty we enjoy.  Let’s remember to show our appreciation for their service not only on Veteran’s Day, but every day.

The second holiday we observe this month is Thanksgiving Day.  The first Thanksgiving known to most Americans is the one celebrated by the Pilgrims in October 1621.  However, a Thanksgiving celebration was held in Virginia in 1619 by English settlers.  Thanksgiving has been celebrated nationally since 1789 with a proclamation by President George Washington.   Interestingly, in the early days of our nation, the U.S. President had discretion in celebrating Thanksgiving.  President Thomas Jefferson did not observe the holiday and it was celebrated off and on until 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of “Thanksgiving and Praise” to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November.  On June 28, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Holidays Act which made Thanksgiving a holiday in Washington D.C.  On January 6, 1885 Congress made Thanksgiving a holiday throughout the United States.  Between 1939 and 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved observance of Thanksgiving Day one week earlier.   In 1942 an Act of Congress designated a permanent observation date of the fourth Thursday in November for Thanksgiving and is the date we continue to observe in the U. S. today.  Thanksgiving was initially celebrated to show thankfulness and blessings for bountiful harvests.  Today it celebrates the blessings, freedoms and opportunities we enjoy as Americans.  Let’s make sure that in addition to our traditional Thanksgiving Day feasts and football that we remember the real reasons, blessings and thankfulness, behind the Day’s celebration.

I look forward to seeing you at our meeting on November 19.  Make sure to enjoy the remaining good weather in your Miata.  Zoom-Zoom!

Ron Carmichael