Vegas PBS Interim President & General Manager John Turner's thoughts on Veterans Day, Native American Heritage Month, and Thanksgiving as we head into November.
November in Las Vegas is one of my favorite months.
As a small child living in Michigan, November was hard to miss. By that time of year, most of the leaves had changed or were already on the ground, the temperatures were dropping, and you knew the first snow probably wasn't too far away. November was the doorway to winter and, more importantly, to the holidays and everything that came with them. Family, Thanksgiving, Christmas on the way, and all those traditions that you probably don't appreciate nearly as much when you're a kid as you do later in life.
I remember liking that time of year even as a kid. I'm not sure I could have told you exactly why back then. I just did.
November in Southern Nevada looks a little different. We are certainly not waiting for the first big snowfall. But we do still notice the cooler mornings, change in weather, earlier sunsets and that feeling that another year is starting to wind down. November has now become a month of reflection for me.
Veterans Day is part of that.
My dad served in Korea, so Veterans Day was always more than something written on a calendar. There was a personal connection to it.
As I've gotten older, I've come to appreciate not only the men and women who served, but their families too. We rightfully recognize those who put on the uniform, but there are spouses, children, parents and others at home who live through the deployments, missed holidays, uncertainty and time apart. They sacrificed a lot as well.
November is National Native American Heritage Month. That's particularly relevant here in Nevada and throughout the Southwest, where Native history isn't something from some distant place or time. It's part of the history of the land and communities around us. Native people have called this land home for generations, and Native communities remain very much a part of Nevada today. Their history is part of the history of the place we all call home.
And then there's Thanksgiving.
For me, Thanksgiving has always been about family. It's sitting around a table, sharing a meal, catching up and probably hearing a few stories you've already heard a hundred times.
I think Thanksgiving means something different as you get older, too. Kids grow up. Families change. People get married and start lives of their own. Sometimes they move away. New people join the family. Traditions change, sometimes without anyone ever sitting down and deciding to change them. When you're younger, I think you just assume there will always be another Thanksgiving exactly like the last one. Eventually you figure out that's not how life works. You realize that simply having the people you love sitting around the same table, even if it's only for a few hours, is something you shouldn't take for granted.
I also understand today that the history of Thanksgiving is more complicated than the version many of us learned as kids, particularly for Native Americans. For some, the holiday has a very different meaning. Recognizing this does not take anything away from our own traditions. We can celebrate and be grateful while also being willing to understand someone else's history and experience.
Those two things can exist at the same time.
Maybe that's really what I like about November.
It gives us several different reasons to stop for a minute. Veterans Day reminds me of my dad and all those who served. Native American Heritage Month gives us a reason to learn more about the people and history around us. And Thanksgiving gives us a chance to get everybody around the same table.
Then, before you know it, November is over and we're heading toward another new year.
I think that's part of what we do at Vegas PBS. We tell stories. Some stories teach us something. Some make us laugh. Some preserve our history. And sometimes a story gives us a chance to see our community, or someone else, a little differently. I think there’s substantial value in that. That feels especially appropriate in November. As we recognize Veterans Day, Vegas PBS will share programming that honors the stories, service, and sacrifice of those who have served our country. And during Native American Heritage Month, Nevada Week will look closer to home, exploring the legislative priorities and issues affecting Indigenous communities here in Nevada.
As we head into the holiday season, I hope we find a little time to slow down, listen to one another, connect, and appreciate the people around us.
And from me, and all of us at Vegas PBS, thank you for inviting us into your homes, for allowing us to be a small part of your lives and your families, and most of all, for allowing us to be your neighbor.
