MANHATTAN: HOLIDAY GRIDLOCK
I was in Manhattan during the Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. I enjoyed Thanksgiving, took a limited advantage of Black Friday and avoided Cyber Monday all together. Although, many shoppers stayed home to shop online, the city was more gridlocked than usual! The streets were jammed by thousands of double-parked parcel delivery trucks, and building lobbies looked like warehouses! In the United States, an estimated 2.45 billion E-commerce parcels were delivered over this period last year [1] . By riding the subway, I survived the street congestion, the rain and the sleet. My Thanksgiving was an intergenerational family feast. Thanksgiving is the second oldest American celebration, after Independence Day on July 4 th . It was observed even before President Lincoln proclaimed it a national holiday. My friends cooked a traditional meal with a juicy roasted turkey, and seasonal vegetables, sweet pota...