I’m not a meteorologist, but I do have a smart phone, and it is indicating a brisk, but sunny, Thanksgiving Day.

As I write this, it’s more than a week away, but I’m hopeful, for the sake of the many holiday travelers set to take to the roads this week, that the forecast doesn’t change too much. It wasn’t that long ago that I recall a massive snow storm the week of Thanksgiving that had me stuck at the end of my driveway.

Despite the nice weather forecast, I don’t plan to travel this holiday. For the past few years I’ve found that even the task of making my homemade stuffing and cooking my own bird for hours on Thanksgiving Day is much more relaxing — even therapeutic, somehow — than getting on the roads and heading east to spend the day with mom and dad in Johnstown, Pa.

We’ll likely enjoy pizza Wednesday night and football on Thursday.

I just might even enjoy a day off on both Wednesday and Thursday.

I’ll probably need it after we do our usual Thanksgiving week miracle on Tuesday, when we will put out the Thanksgiving Day newspaper an entire day early. Those who work in the retail industry will tell you the day after Thanksgiving is among their busiest days of the year. But here in our newsroom, it’s Tuesday of Thanksgiving week that we’ve come to know is our busiest day of the year. It’s the day when our newsroom will produce not one newspaper, not even two newspapers, but FOUR newspapers.

As always, we will report, write, edit, lay out, print and deliver the usual Wednesday Tribune Chronicle and Vindicator newspapers.

But after the presses are rolling on the normal Wednesday papers, and when most readers are fast asleep, we will do what few in this industry ever would even consider.

We get to work laying out and sending to press pages for the much-anticipated Thanksgiving Day newspapers.

Why on earth would we do such a thing?

It’s for you, dear reader.

You see, we know holiday shoppers — the really serious ones who head out before sun-up on Black Friday to crush the deals and make a serious dent in their Christmas shopping — must have a well thought-out plan. They want to study the sales fliers, map out routes for door busters, clip coupons and check their lists twice.

This stuff is important! And everything they need to know comes tucked inside the Thanksgiving Day newspaper.

Putting the Thanksgiving Day newspaper on the news stands by Wednesday afternoon gives everyone an opportunity to start planning a day early.

Also in the Thanksgiving paper, you will find hundreds of submissions from area readers discussing what they truly are thankful for. As I do every year, I look forward to reading what our readers have to say, and I hope you do too, and now you can do that as early as Wednesday afternoon!

But never fear about the possibility of missing any big news or sports developments. Breaking news that occurs throughout the day Wednesday will be posted online at www.tribtoday.com or at www.vindy.com. Also, big stories will be updated and published for readers in Friday’s print and digital editions.

And, after this really busy week is all done, we all can sigh and relax — but not for too long!

After that, it’s time to get busy planning for the next big holiday!

As an aside, please don’t forget all those less fortunate when you begin preparing for the upcoming holidays.

Hunger and need is escalating in Ohio and nationwide.

Each year we get pleas for help from area agencies like the Warren and Youngstown missions, Salvation Army, Second Harvest Food Bank and many others, asking us to remind our readers to keep the area’s needy in mind when they do their grocery shopping for large family gatherings or holiday gift shopping. Opportunities for giving are enormous this time of year. Please take note of those opportunities and set aside a little extra money to give to those who are less fortunate.

Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

blinert@tribtoday.com