Thanksgiving

The weather gods smiled on Philadelphia-area travelers during one of the busiest days on Wednesday, with a morning rain easing as people rushed to cars, trains, and planes for Thanksgiving destinations. At 30th Street Station, on what Amtrak calls its most hectic day, some regional lines were running 15 to 30 minutes late around noon while others were on schedule. The passenger line for the Keystone service to New York City snaked around the stairway shortly before an 11:45 a.m. departure.

By William J. Richardson Jr. It was dark in the deep valley, even with a thousand stars glittering in the sky. The moon was high, its light reflecting off the snow and an ice-covered stream that ran the length of the valley. In another time and place, it could have been a pristine scene on a holiday greeting card. But this was Korea in late November 1950, and I was shocked back to reality by a North Korean guard shouting at me to move back into a filthy hut with 20 other prisoners of war. There were 900 of us in the entire valley.

Lydell Mitchell remembers the last game of his high school career. "That one was special," Mitchell said. "We won, but I fell a little short of winning the South Jersey scoring title. I would have liked to have been No. 1 in South Jersey, but the important thing was that we won and we were able to celebrate a victory over Woodstown in our last game. " Mitchell, who graduated from Salem in 1968 and went on to play at Penn State and in the NFL, is the most famous alumnus of one of South Jersey's oldest rivalries.

EAGLES RUNNING BACK LeSean McCoy is accustomed to taking handoffs from his quarterback on Sunday afternoons, but on a rainy Tuesday night he was the one giving handoffs. McCoy stopped by VILLA, an urban-inspired clothing store on North Broad Street, to give out 150 frozen turkeys to any family in need this Thanksgiving. He signed autographs for smiling fans and posed for pictures with young kids wearing his jersey. "I'm just focused on giving back. I did the same thing last week in Harrisburg so I'm just trying to the best of my ability to give back," McCoy said.

Here is an excerpt from the cooking blog "My Daughter's Kitchen. " My daughter Sally and her friends are hosting a "fakes-giving" at her apartment this week. It's a lovely tradition a lot of young people are adopting, a turkey feast with all the trimmings prepared and shared by friends, before or after the day with family. It gives the younger generation a chance to celebrate and give thanks in their own way, without the stress or expectations of a family gathering.

By Frank Cerabino To: All sales associates From: Team leader Subject: Store hours on Thanksgiving I would like to put to rest all the rumors (and petitions!) concerning store hours on Black Friday, which, as many of you have pointed out in anonymous messages, now begins on Thursday. As always, we appreciate the feedback from our loyal associates, although in the future, we would prefer that you do not leave your suggestions on the walls of the employee restroom.

HERE'S SOMETHING to be thankful for: a Daily News list telling you what's open and closed tomorrow (a legal holiday).   Pa N.J. Banks Closed Optional Savings & loans Closed Optional Federal agencies Closed Closed Federal courts Closed Closed State agencies Closed Closed Local/state courts*...

In a slower, simpler time, Thanksgiving football wasn't just the highlight of the fall season. It was the biggest day on the scholastic sports calendar. It was a cultural event. It was a community happening. Those days are long gone. And while Thanksgiving Day football has hung around through Title IX and the growth of other sports, through suburban sprawl and the expanding popularity of the football playoff system, it's looking more like a leftover from another time – a little like a picked-over turkey pulled out of the refrigerator three days after the big meal.

IN HIGH SCHOOL, Sixers announcer Marc Zumoff was never one of the jocks - in fact he said he was the "fat kid" who always watched from the sideline. Today as one of the most recognizable sports voices in Philadelphia, he has the dream job jocks envy. Funny how that works. Tomorrow, Zumoff's world will come full circle when he returns to Washington High, his alma mater, to announce Washington's annual Thanksgiving Day game against Archbishop Ryan (10 a.m.). Zumoff, a 1973 graduate, will be the primary voice for the game, which will air on the Comcast Network.

The tradition begins with Steve Schain, so it's his story. He's a 47-year-old lawyer reliving childhood as a suburban Superdad. Only instead of a cape, he flies around Bala Cynwyd wearing an American flag bandanna on his bald head. Nine years ago, the Amherst Bowl was just Steve calling buddies to drag their boys out for touch football on Thanksgiving morning. If they were lucky, the kids worked up an appetite and the men scored points with their wives. "I was there the first year.