THANKSGIVING

One of the great things about Thanksgiving is, if your family is religiously observant, it is one of the few “holiday” times when you can all get together. And you can even drive to get there!!

We grew up in New England. They take Thanksgiving very seriously there. People go to church and synagogue for communal thanksgiving prayers. The scent of cooking turkeys and baking pies (apple and cinnamon smells- yummy) fills the air. You can say things at the Thanksgiving table you can’t say at any other times (look at those thighs!). And at what other meal can you have sweet potato pie, sweet potato casserole, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, potato salad and broiled potatoes?

We always had at least two turkeys on the serving board. That way the tush eaters (both of them) could claim victory! Along with the potatoes, there would be home made apple sauce and baked apples (we had a small orchard), home made cranberry sauce and slice-able canned sauce and a ton of green and yellow veggies. Wax beans and Brussels sprouts were fairly common. Dessert meant pies: blueberry, apple, cherry and rhubarb. Apple cider was the drink of choice. Most years our mom baked rolls, too.

Later after everyone had eaten to the point of stupefaction, the table was moved to the side wall, the turkey that was left was sliced for sandwiches and all manner of “fixins” were laid out for post postprandial noshing. At every Thanksgiving someone would say that he had to unbutton his pants to make room. And then there was the slightly inebriated uncle who not only unbuttoned his pants, but he had them at his ankles!!

The two best parts of T Day were the football games and the Monkey movies. King Kong, Son of Kong, Bride of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, King Kong Keeps Kosher, etc. Some years there would be a Three Stooges marathon on TV. What could be better?

Have a most wonderful Thanksgiving.