We here at The Times wish everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. As we approach holiday gift shopping don’t forget to shop local to support local businesses. City offices will be closed on Thursday, November 28, and Friday, November 29, for Thanksgiving. Trash, recycling, and yard waste collection will be delayed by one day. All Somerville Public Library locations will be closed after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 27, all day Thursday, November 28, and all day Friday, November 29 for the Thanksgiving holiday. Regular hours will resume on Saturday, November 30. The Council on Aging will be closed on November 28 and Friday, November 29 in observance of Thanksgiving.

— Photos by Jeffrey Shwom

This past Thursday, a laughing audience took in Atomic Comedy’s Indie Improv Night at ROOTED Café in Somerville at the Armory. Three acts included players from Stop That Baby! (like Addy Gover, Emma Hobbs, Harry Pearce, and Drew Briggs) and the Atomic Comedy All-Stars (Amy Clare Parker). Sketches included a town in New Jersey with only coast land everywhere, three Elton Johns (one who was Melting John) and a raspy-voiced school janitor who mixed dangerous chemicals to give to adults and children. Hosted every Third Thursday of the month by Addy, who also organized a monthly LGBTQ+ Improv Comedy Community Meetup.
—  Jeffrey Shwom

Eagle Feathers #318 – Thanksgiving – 420 years

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

In the autumn of 1621, the custom of Thanksgiving in America was first announced by Governor Bradford of the Plymouth Colony. This tradition was created to give thanks for the survival of the European immigrants who fled religious and self-governing intolerance and survived the grueling sixty-six-day voyage across the stormy Atlantic Ocean.

Giving thanks for our blessings is normally an easy thing to do. We may often get caught up in the day-to-day trappings of scratching out a living, ducking misfortune, and seeking out an occasional highlight to add to our mental scrapbooks. Usually, though, we come around to feeling and expressing that special sense of appreciation and gratitude that comes in moments of qui-et reflection just in time to validate ourselves as worthy recipients of such blessings.

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Review by Off the Shelf Correspondent Ed Meek

 A creative literary take on the mystery novel

In Egypt when someone dies, relatives hire professional mourners to help the family and friends grieve. Jews sit shiva for seven days after the death of a close one. For many of us though, there is a funeral mass and service. Then, we are expected to get on with our lives. Alina Grabowski delves into the way women in a small town process the tragic death of a high school girl.

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I got this idea for a poem from a great ad for smoked fish. It is in response to the duct taped banana that recently sold for millions of dollars on the art market.

Crews performed track replacement work along the Red Line. Complimentary photo by the MBTA Customer and Employee Experience Department.

The MBTA announced the successful completion of critical track work on the Red Line while service was suspended between Harvard and Broadway the evening of November 17 through November 23 and between Harvard and JFK/UMass on November 24. The Red Line is now completely free of all slow zones for the first time in at least 20 years, joining both the Blue and Orange lines as speed restriction-free. The Green Line will be free of its final speed restrictions following upcoming track work in December, making the entire subway system free of speed restrictions.  

LEGO-State-House

LEGO® Discovery Center Boston’s Holiday Bricktacular Runs Now Through January 5th

Build the best holiday memories and give back in a big way during LEGO Discovery Center Boston’s seasonal event, Holiday Bricktacular, with the new Build to Give experience. From now– January 5^th, families can enjoy a winter wonderland of activities, see a giant LEGO sleigh, meet and greet with a LEGO Gingerbread Man and more. 

Community support needed to create a hub for laughter and creativity

A new improv comedy theater is coming to Somerville, MA. Sort of. Union Comedy, currently at 593 Somerville Ave, has found a new home at 73 Bow Street. Before moving, however, there is some work to be done, and a stage to be built.  The theater has launched a Kickstarter campaign in the hopes of  raising $50,000 to build a vibrant performance space for the improv  comedy community, performers and audience alike.