Special Love and Thank You on Thanksgiving

By: Veronica Leighton

 

On this Thanksgiving Day 2021, we all just hope and pray before our special meal for joy and peace in the world, and thank you to our Lord, of course. Although we are faced with eating our turkey that might cost $100 or more on record–from stuffing, to the vanilla extract to the turkey itself, as everything has gone up astronomically together with gas, food, travel, entertainment, travel & leisure, and many other items, we still want to thank God for our everyday survival and love for each other to spread in all humanity. As what our editorial emphasizes on this page, “Thanksgiving in families is a time for love, giving thanks, and just being with family.”

Speaking of family, through the years, with our almost four decades of existence, the Via Times family’s strong characteristics of cohesiveness, camaraderie, and special love have flourished and thrived, whether the individual staffer’s physical presence has gone far or near. Our former “Beauty” columnist Nieves “Beng” Plurad Mayor is one very good example of a very loyal, loving and dedicated staffer who never forgets to let us know what’s going on in her life and vice versa. She has moved to Plano, Texas a few years ago with her husband Brando whenever she visits her son Michael in Lincolnwood every so often. She’s still the same Beng, always electrifying, full of life and energy. Beng has never changed and never will. Thank you for the warm visit, my friend.

Another VT original staffer who never forgets her VT family is Lourdes G. Mon, who used to write a funny “tongue-in-cheek” column. Now a retired schoolteacher/principal of a Catholic school, Lourdes is back to the VT-family fold, writing this time a reversal of her past column, now titled “Lourdes’ Insights.” I know that Lourdes’ fans and readers will be so delighted about this pleasant come-back surprise.

November is also the month that we give salute to the American veterans on Veterans Day set on November 11, observed as a legal holiday. It actually commemorates the end of hostilities in 1918 (WWI) and 1945 (WWII) honoring the veterans of the Armed Forces. Our venerable columnist Prof. Robert Boyer (page 25) talks about and honors his veteran friends from Wisconsin. Fascinatng!

On this special November issue, Via Times writers and advertisers are greeting our readers, friends, and followers a wonderful Happy Thanksgiving with wishes of blissful life for years to come. Enjoy reading, as usual, their entertaining, educating, and amusing columns. ##

Beng Plurad-Mayor with Sol Guinsatao, Cora Guerrero, Rose Gardner, and Veronica at a luncheon get-together and fete at Mariscos La Costa, also in picture are Myles Plurad and Brando Mayor.