Good Morning Gloucester

It was too cold for me to be out on the harbor last night!

Setting up hours 9 to 2..great gifts and a terrific silent auction

Donna Ardizzoni / Circle Consulting Group 978-526-9222

I came across an interesting little Thanksgiving factoid I thought you might be interested in.  Apparently in 1939, the last Thursday in November (the traditional date to celebrate Thanksgiving) was late in the month.  At the time, it wasn’t considered  proper to begin Christmas prior to Thanksgiving (imagine such a world!) and retailers were worried about the bottom line in a shortened shopping season especially as the Depression effects lingered.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving back a week to November 23 (like this year!) in order to allow the extra shopping week.  Did you know this?  Derisively, it was known as Franksgiving and resulted in certain and rapid response from our US Congress.  It’s an interesting story: Check it out here.

Thank you Kim Smith for posting the BBC videos of African elephants. They brought to mind Barbara’s and my trip to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana in 2011. Of all the wildlife we were privileged to see and study, the elephants were the most endearing and fascinating. Their numbers were plentiful and we had ample opportunity to observe herd life, family structure and bonding within the herd and learn about the elephant habitat. These amazing animals must be among the most intelligent, compassionate and loving in all creation.

In the few short years since our visit, the number of African elephants in the wild has decreased dramatically,(about 6% in Zimbabwe) due largely to habitat destruction and ivory poaching.Despite that, legal hunting of elephants is permitted in many African countries. While it may be true that well managed hunting can serve to conserve habitat and strengthen the herds, some countries, and Zimbabwe in particular, have failed to demonstrate a commitment to that goal. Instead, the hefty fees collected from trophy hunters have been diverted from conservation efforts to unrelated purposes.

That’s why, in 2014,in an effort to discourage Americans from engaging in elephant trophy hunting in parts of Africa, President Obama banned the import into the U.S. of elephant body parts from animals killed in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
President Trump has now reversed that order, thereby creating incentives for the trophy hunting of these magnificent creatures and accelerating the decline of African elephants which have been on the Endangered Species list since 1979.

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All photos © Marty Luster 2011

UPDATE 9:15 PM
President Trump, in a tweet, has reversed the order that allowed animal trophies from Zimbabwe to be brought into the US, pending further study. This is a temporary measure, but it allows time to have a public discussion about this issue.
MORE HERE

And after you visit the Fisk Open House, head on over to Gloucester Stage for Fish Tales, the live story-telling program from the Gloucester Writers Center. This is the big yearly show that benefits these two great arts organizations. The Road Trip theme is sure to bring out some amazing true tales, all told by local folks you know. If you like NPR’s Moth Radio Hour, you’ll love Fish Tales.

Last year this show was completely sold out, buy your tickets early.