Happy Blue Friday, sailors! We bet you thought we wouldn’t be here today, and you’re right: We’re not. We’re out sailing with all the other smart people. This story comes to you from the future, although by the time you’re reading this, that future is now in the past … never mind. Bring in that line a bit, ease the main, and we’ll get to the point of today’s story.

We’ll start with something we read in the New York Times, in an article titled “Everything You Learned About Thanksgiving Is Wrong.” The story tells us that in 1621, a year after the Pilgrims came to North America from Plymouth, England, they “celebrated a successful harvest with a three-day gathering that was attended by members of the Wampanoag tribe,” who had apparently been “planting on the other side of the brook.” This reads a little differently than the traditional “thanks for your help” story we all know. But regardless of how it came about, the point is that there wasn’t a big to-do about how to spend the day after the celebratory feasting had ended. Chances are they got up in the morning and went about their chores as they did every other day. Going off in the car for a family outing at a big blowout store sale was not on their calendar. This means they probably had a relatively nice day. Because, really, how many of us “enjoy” the frenetic pace, noise, race to grab the bargains, and the stress it creates? Sure, it sounds exciting, but wait until the headache kicks in.

So here’s the plan. Cancel all your plans. Apart from the ones that involve sailing. Grab your family, your friends your pets, and Thursday’s leftovers, cast off the dock lines, and putter out into the Bay to enjoy some of that forecast 64° and sunny weather.

But we’re also realistic. If you really, really must shop, there are hundreds of options online that you can take advantage of before or after your sail. Plus, most places will still be offering their sale prices for the next week or so. And as if that weren’t enough to consider, Saturday is all about the small businesses. They probably need your shopping dollars more than the big-box stores and such. So give it some thought. We’re not saying don’t shop and don’t take advantage of the bargains, just be mindful of where and when you spend your money.

That’s it, the end of our sermon.

Have a great day, and a wonderful weekend. We’ll be back on Monday!

#optsailing #bluefriday #smallbusinesssaturday