Still giving thanks on this holiday weekend

I'm just returning from a long Thanksgiving weekend up north, where the temps actually dipped to 8 one morning. But the warmth of friends and family made that impossible to believe as we celebrated the holiday. And you know, pulling out the heavy sweaters and mittens only added to the festive spirit. (Sure, it probably helped knowing that mid-70s awaited here in Bradenton, but...)

Before we gear up for end-of-the-month reports, the traffic jams as work on Manatee Avenue drags on (check out this photo gallery by Grant Jefferies), and a full week after that blessed holiday break, there's still plenty of time to revel in the joys of Thanksgiving.

As features writer Wade Tatangelo reflects in his column today, being home for the holidays -- whether it's immediate or extended family, new or old friends -- is an unparalleled joy. And if you didn't make it home -- especially for the men and women serving our country overseas -- thoughts and prayers of thanks were sent to embrace you.

-- Joan

Free tickets to check out Harry Potter

What does Draco Malfoy name his son?

The trivia question was posted yesterday on Bradenton Herald's Facebook, and Will Hefner was the first to list the right answer (Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy). He scored himself two Carmike Cinemas tickets for the latest movie craze, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

Every day this week, we'll be posting a Potter trivia question. And usually the first Facebook pal to answer correctly will win another deuce of tickets. "Like us" on Facebook, get the right answer and you might find yourself with a date to the theater.

What's in the stars for you today

We noticed that many of our viewers are searching for 'horoscope' -- yes, we study those SEO lists religiously.

But we didn't make it easy for you to find. Now, thanks to Bradenton.com Web Developer William Winter, you can click to our daily horoscope page from the home page's dropdown menu, or from Bradenton.com/horoscope.

A glance back at Friday: I should have read mine way sooner!

-- Joan

Salute our Veterans with photos, tributes

A friend recently sent me a must-read opinion piece about the defeat of U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, the Wisconsin Democrat who often was labeled the Senate's conscience for the past 17 years.

Whether you agree or not isn't why I point you there. The column launches by taking you back to the days after 9-11, when patriotism was fierce throughout America.

Bring yourself back, if you can bear it, to October, 2001. Remember flags ubiquitous, tears irrepressible. There were a good many of us who declared at the time that we were afraid not only of the threat of violence from abroad but also of the domestic danger that our liberties would be revoked in the name of security.

I thought again about this as I read our 1A tease today for Veterans Day events. The list is long, but the patriotic trumpets don't sound as loud. We hope our advance stories stir more reverence for all our veterans. We've launched a photo tribute page here at www.bradenton.com/veteransphotos. And on Thursday, your Bradenton Herald will include a full-page American Flag for your windows and bulletin boards.
A salute to veterans like Hurb Thompson, who took the story behind his Purple Heart to Braden River middle-schoolers yesterday.
Photo by Grant Jefferies

What a sweet treat for our fans

We've had fun picking among our Facebook fans for Hunsader tickets these past few weeks. But none has been sweeter than our grand prize winner, Lucille Skidmore.

And in today's story, columnist Vin Mannix talks to Skidmore, who knows how much her autistic grandson Jacob Shahinian will enjoy himself at the Hunsader Farm Family Pumpkin Festival.

“Walking through the maze, playing in the bounce house, sitting in the pumpkin patch with his sisters, he loved all of it,” Skidmore said. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face when we go back.”

That will be this weekend — a fourth birthday present for Jacob and his 14-year-old sisters, twins Samantha and Savannah.

Sweet treat. Congratulations to all of our winners.

Early voting proves to be plenty patriotic

I voted today, joining the ranks of early voters for the first time. And it was, surprisingly, just as rewarding as voting on Election Day.For some reason, I hadn't expected that feeling of good ol' patriotic pride that comes with walking into the polling place on the first Tuesday of November each year.

But the line was actually longer today at the Supervisors of Elections office than it typically is at my neighborhood church/polling place.

The glut of campaign signs, the banter of the latest opinions surrounding various races and the earnestness of the elections workers provided quite a lift. It felt a lot more significant than the state Legislature's dry definition of early voting: "casting a ballot prior to election day at a location designated by the supervisor of elections and depositing the voted ballot in the tabulation system."

Manatee Supervisor of Elections Bob Sweat says the line has been steady all week. As of day's end Tuesday, 5,690 of the county's 202,710 registered voters had cast their ballots. Early voting continues 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday & Friday; 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday. More details can be found on the supervisor of elections site.

We all left today emblazoned with "I Voted" stickers. We just have to wait a bit longer to see if our choices prevail.

-- Joan

Going pink: Manatee makes time to care

Throughout October, Manatee County residents have been raising awareness of the toll that breast cancer takes on women -- and men. In the Herald's coverage today , you'll see the statistic: More than 240,000 women and men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year in the United States. And 12,000 of those live in Florida.

At least that many men, women and children walked somewhere in Manatee County over the weekend to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization.
I think we all know someone who has been stricken with cancer. Many of us have had at least a scare. What better reason to take that sticky note on the front of today's paper and get a free cancer screening if you haven't already? And read through the stories we recently published in "Pink," a special section dedicated to breast cancer awareness.

Take time to care.