The Clear Communication Thanksgiving 2013

Thanksgiving is one of the staples in American Society.  While sports teams win and lose, the markets go up and down, retailers come and go Thanksgiving is the one constant that we can all count on year to year.  Recently, the spirit of Thanksgiving has been under attack right under our noses. 

We have all stood in a kitchen taking in the smell of a slow roasted Turkey and stuffing, which even mentioning it makes my mouth water.  All good parties and holidays begin and end in the kitchen.  This is what I’ve been told and see no reason to disagree with conventional wisdom.  The conversations hearken back to family and friends and good times.  None of this has changed except for one thing, technology.  I found myself staring at my smart phone looking at others thanksgiving posts on Facebook, reading cute emails about funny Thanksgiving stories, learning about the creep of retail into Thanksgiving Day, you know…..all the really important stuff.

I was pulled out of my trance by the least technical person I know, my father.  My father for all practical matters is an old time, traditional kind of person.  Having been an Orthopedic Surgeon for over 45 years he knows technology and what it can do.   He is wise enough to know what it can’t do.  What it can’t do is bring families together for the one day a year and talk.   My father is endlessly irritated with my children, me, my mother etc. who are in his house looking at some sort of screen.  Yesterday, my father, in his own inimitable way took back Thanksgiving from Facebook, Google, YouTube and the many other “distraction factories” that invade family functions.

My father had gone to the party store.  He had decided that with his 6 grandchildren at the Thanksgiving table was going to play a game.  Everyone had two Dreidels to spin; yes we celebrated Thanksgivingakah this year.  Each spin would give you a reach into one of his two prize bags.  As we found out, the bags were filled with plastic bracelets, funny glasses and general dime store novelties.

Certainly wisdom comes from experience.  My Dad knew that with the electronic devices in hand there would be no buy-in from the family.  After we were completely stuffed from my mother’s epic meal, and in the middle of our Tryptophan delirium, my Dad quickly left the room and returned with the two large bags full of prizes and a small box.  On the outside of the box, drawn with a Sharpe, was a picture of a smiley face.  My Dad proceeded to walk around the table. He explained to everyone, adults included that they wouldn’t be eligible to play for the cavalcade of prizes he possessed unless they deposited all electronic devices in the box which they would receive back at the end of the evening.  As he came by each of our chairs at the table we begrudgingly gave up our electronic security blankets.

Within minutes, the entire table became engaged and we howled with laughter as the grandchildren won their silly glasses, paddle balls and various sundry prizes.  It turned out that the least technologically adept person at the table was actually the most.  My Dad knew technology had no place at a family function like Thanksgiving.  By removing these devices my Dad became the real networking expert.  He reconnected our family.  He is the smartest Technical Consultant I have met in a long time.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!