I’d like to wish all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving.
May your travels be as easy and stress-free as possible, and your time spent with family and friends fun and engaging.
My fondest Thanksgiving memories are from my childhood when we’d all get in the car and drive across Michigan to go to my Aunt Margaret’s house in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The driveway held many cars, and the house was full of my aunts, uncles, and cousins.
The kitchen would be full of my aunts, and we’d go in the door, quickly pass through the kitchen, and spread out into other areas of the house that were less busy. My mom was one of seven children, so there was no shortage of cousins to play with.
My favorite uncle, Ivor, was a baby doctor, and invariably, he’d get a page and have to go into the hospital to deliver a baby. I remember his smile, the tales of the new baby’s birth, and how much he loved drinking Pepsi. We weren’t allowed to have pop with our dinners at home, but when we were at my Uncle Ivor’s house, Pepsi was an option for most dinners other than Thanksgiving.
Late at night, all the kids would crowd around the TV set to watch whatever the oldest cousins decided was best. I remember watching Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “The Birds” one Thanksgiving visit. I was right up front, laying with my head propped up on a pillow next to one of my young cousins. I had my eyes closed because those birds were pretty damn scary to a little guy.
We’d all go to our beds or sleeping bags once the movie ended, and then the older kids, thinking we’d not seen enough frightening things, would start telling ghost stories.
The next day would include a big game of touch football with all of the cousins, uncles, and few brave aunts.
Years later, when I went back to see my aunt and uncle, I couldn’t believe how small the dining room was. It was hard to fathom how my aunts were able to make such good meals in that small kitchen. The last generation really was a great generation. I miss all of my aunts and uncles.
Many of my later memories of Thanksgiving include watching football games, going skiing for the first time of the year, and seeing relatives I hadn’t seen in years. Here in Denver, we are still waiting for our first snow this year.
The old record for the latest first snow was set on November 21, 1934. I am not complaining about the weather because 67 in late November feels pretty good compared to 27, snow, and a brisk 30 mile per hour wind. And I know that once January, February, and March, it will snow, and the temperature will get so cold that you wish you’d parked your car in the garage rather than having to scrape the windows.
Ok, I must admit these pictures are making me crave mashed potatoes and stuffing.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
Take care, safe travels, and don’t sit next to your least favorite cousin at the dinner table.