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Frederick A. Babb
Wandering Member
Post Number:
269
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 24, 2004 - 11:05 am: |   |
Just a story I made up. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
HEY TURKEY!
Before we ever think about celebrating Christmas, we must first manage to pass through that holiday known to American mankind as Thanksgiving. It’s the time of year that we give our thanks to whatever we might just be thankful for. Maybe you got a raise this year or maybe you finally were able to listen to the latest Paula Abdul song. Whatever the case may be, just be thankful that it happened on this given day.
Whoever it was that decided that Thanksgiving must be on the last Thursday of the month of November, must have had a vision of the future way back when. It couldn’t have been more strategically planned. I’m sure that all common day workers should at least be thankful that Thanksgiving usually means a four day weekend.
The sports fan should be thankful, so to speak. On this very day, they are always able to see the Dallas Cowboys play. Not being a Cowboys fan, I consider their Thanksgiving appearance year after year a direct link to why turkeys are so popular on this holiday. The turkey bowl if you will.
Where as Christmas brings together families separated by miles of American dirt, Thanksgiving brings together friends from around the neighborhood. Of course, families that live close to one another get together also. But for the most part, friends that have no immediate family near, join together to be thankful.
No matter how liberated women think they are; Thanksgiving has a way of telling us that women’s liberation is more ideological than reality. Who’s in the kitchen cooking that big bird with all the goodies and who’s sitting in front of the television watching fourth and goal to go in the third quarter? Need I say more?
Thanksgiving must also be considered the warm-up for the Christmas holidays as far as eating is concern. This is the time of year when people who are on diets but don’t want to be, start saying “It’s no use watching the weight now, with the holidays and everything”. This is a clear sign that a person is content in being overweight but doesn’t like the remarks that other politically incorrect people say about them. So they say they are dieting to keep people off their backs.
The table for the feast prepared need be industrial strength in the leg department. With all the food that is put out, your average, everyday dining table for Mom, Dad, and little Finster just won’t cut it. It will double up leaving turkey and stuffing on your lap before you can say “Pass me a napkin, dear”.
Now whether it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas or the neighbors that won’t leave the house, every time there are more than just family members eating, a table is set up for the youngsters. You went through it when you were young and now that you are older and wiser. When you were a kid, you couldn’t wait for the day when you could sit with the older folk at the main table. That was your introduction into adulthood. And as you sat their in that table with those other kids, you swore than when you have kids, you would never make them sit at a different table than you. That was until you had kids. Now you make them sit at a different table. It’s a tradition that no one can break. Why fight it?
Getting back to the food, Thanksgiving and eating go hand in hand. Ask anyone what they do at Thanksgiving and eating will come up sooner or later. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated way back when because our forefathers were happy that the Indians showed them how to produce food. Since this was before the first pigskin was passed, the pilgrims had nothing better to do than eat. So they did and now we do.
The dinner comes in waves on Thanksgiving. First you get your share of turkey, stuffing, yams, ham, potatoes, and whatever else gives your putter a flutter. You devour it with pleasure. After all, turkey is not a popular everyday meal. And when you get done with those leftovers in February, you’re glad it’s not.
Once your get filled, then out come the pies. Pumpkin pie leads the way on Thanksgiving. It has to. What else are you going to do with all the innards from that pumpkin you carved up for Halloween?
Apple, cherry, and peach pies also come out. This leaves you in the dilemma of which pie to eat. If you were by yourself, you’d probably just grab a slab of each and worry about those calories tomorrow. But with company watching, you must decide on one and act like it’s all you want. Of course the invited probably want a piece of each also, but that thing we call manners stops that before it even starts. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. (At least not with public approval)
Children really don’t understand the true meaning of Thanksgiving. (Adults don’t either sometimes) But still, they are happy just the same because this holiday gives them a four day break from school. That, in its self, is something to be thankful for.
Children though, like to be out doors on this day. Depending on where you reside and the weather situation at the time, they either go out or they don’t. This is leaf season. Children love running through piles of leaves that grownups have just raked the day before. When you’re young, you might as well do it. Because when you are hold and the rules of society prohibit you from running through those leaves anymore, some kid will come by after you have spent hours raking and scatter those leaves faster than if a tornado had hit your lawn. It’s enough to try your thankful spirit.
The one thing that Thanksgiving marks is shoppingmania. The day after turkey dinner brings out the wallets to the local shopping malls in groves not scene since they crucified Jesus Christ. Now the same people who were so thankful just the day before, have now changed into a pushing, grabbing, yelling, cut throat species we call Christmas shoppers. They go to stores looking for bottom line prices on items for the whole family and chase that blue light around as if it were a holy sacrament. This last from now until mid-January, when those everything-that-was-on-sale-and ended-up-as-your-gift-and-now-you-want-to-change-it sales run out.
When this time of year occurs, it’s best to stay in doors. Kind of like when a hurricane is about to hit. Only a this last for six weeks and the after effects drag on the whole year.
Preview books: http://www.frederickbabb.bravehost.com |
Laurel Johnson
Unity Member
Post Number:
3585
Registered: 01-2002
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, November 24, 2004 - 11:39 am: | |
That was a good story,Frederick, and just about covered everything.
When I was a child, the men all went hunting on Thanksgiving morning. Thankfully, wall to wall football had not been invented then, so after the feast, after the dishes were washed, all the grownups played canasta. The kids got sent outside to freeze their butts off while the marathon card game continued until well after dark.
Today, I'm thankful that my husband is not a sports fan. Yes, the women still do all the cooking but my husband washes dishes afterwards. He washes ALL the dishes and puts away all the leftovers, except for those we've doled out to family to take home. That way we have SOME turkey leftover but not enough to last til February.
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
Laurel Johnson
Author: The Grass Dance
The Alley of Wishes
Color of Laughter, Color of Tears
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