JUDY WOODRUFF: As we
reported, public health
officials are concerned
too many people traveled
this holiday week to
be with loved ones.
But air travel is still 60
percent below where it was
at this time last year.
Tens of millions have
decided to stay home.
Before the holiday begins,
we gathered voices from
around the country to hear
their thoughts about
approaching Thanksgiving
differently this year.
MARIA TREMINIO-RAMIREZ,
Maryland: Hello. I'm
Maria Treminio-Ramirez.
PHIL WRIGHT, Missouri:
I'm Phil Wright.
GERRY ADAMS, Florida:
My name is Gerry Adams.
JACQUI FALLUCA, Florida:
I'm Jacqui Falluca.
NICK FALLUCA, Florida:
I'm Nick Falluca.
SELENA PAO, Arizona:
My name is Selena.
DEBORAH POTTER, New
Mexico: I'm Deborah Potter.
DR. JAY PATEL,
Wisconsin: My name is
Dr. Jay Patel. I work in
Southeastern Wisconsin, and
I'm a critical care physician.
PHIL WRIGHT: Thanksgiving at
our house ranges year to year,
depending on how many family
members are in town. And, of
course, in the past we have
had as many as 20, 25 people.
SELENA PAO: Sometimes, we will
do turkey. Sometimes, we will do
other things that are special
to us. We like to do hot pot.
DEBORAH POTTER: I'm a widow,
and, normally, I would be
with my family and friends.
And my husband was a great chef.
I was sort of the sous-chef.
GERRY ADAMS: I'm usually the
volunteer who kind of watches
the kids, because while I'm OK
with playing Monopoly with the
kids or playing Risk with them,
because, well, I always cheat.
(LAUGHTER)
JACQUI FALLUCA: My family gets
together every year. There's
probably about 40-45
people there, usually
at my aunt's house.
MARIA TREMINIO-RAMIREZ: This
year, we will be eating at home
and we will be talking with my
family virtually, hopefully.
And I will be cooking my own
dishes for the first time.
I'm planning to cook panes
de pollo, which is a sandwich
that we make in El Salvador.
PHIL WRIGHT: We're going
to reach out to everybody
that couldn't be with us,
whether it's a FaceTime our
just a phone call or whatever.
It's just very important
that everybody stays healthy,
because we have made it
this many months now.
We certainly don't
want to jeopardize it.
SELENA PAO: I would hate
to either be a vector or
potentially get my grandparents
sick. I don't think I could
ever forgive myself for
doing something like that.
I also want to be extremely
cautious myself, because
I have a small baby,
new baby here, about
five months old. And if
we get sick, who's going
to take care of our son?
GERRY ADAMS: It is
one of the things
that in my personal situation
in life becomes the most
valuable thing I got.
I'm on oxygen. I'm on dialysis.
I have lots of health issues.
I don't get to do much anymore.
Living for these family
moments are the best reasons
why I want to stay alive.
This year, we can't
take that chance.
DR. JAY PATEL: I know
it's around the corner,
but I think many of us
are just kind of buckling
down and sort of doing our work
right now, so much so that we
haven't had a chance to really
sort of think about the
holiday season. At least
-- at least, I haven't.
DEBORAH POTTER: I decided to get
a Thanksgiving dinner with all
the trimmings from a local farm
store. And it's locally owned.
And then I thought, well,
geez, this is going to
be too much food for me.
So, I thought about my friends
that have been sick lately. And
I thought, I'm going to pick
up these orders and bring them
to my friends on Thanks --
the day before Thanksgiving.
JACQUI FALLUCA: My husband
and I are very active in
the community, so I work
as a nurse and he has
to travel for work. So
we didn't think it would
be safe to be around all
of the extended family.
So, we were actually going
to announce that we're
expecting our first child.
I wanted to be there
to tell my whole family at once.
So, hopefully, they're watching
this, and they will get to see.
(LAUGHTER)
DR. JAY PATEL: Thanksgiving
and other holidays are
there for us to just kind
of reflect upon the year.
And I wonder if that could
be used - - this can be
used as an opportunity
to reflect upon the impact of
our actions this time of year.
Adam Schiff It's better to
sacrifice one Thanksgiving
for many other future
happier Thanksgivings.
PHIL WRIGHT: We're fortunate,
in that everybody is
healthy and taken care of.
It's just that we won't
be together, but that's
not the end of the world.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Tough decisions.
And congratulations on the baby
announcement. You heard it here.