In our family, a real effort is made to make certain every family
member has a chance of enjoying a Thanksgiving feast. That not every family
member participates is not the fault of the host. My sister, Sarah or as
we sometimes call her, Sara Sue, has in recent years assumed responsibility
for hosting our family Thank sgiving dinner. Because certain family members
have left the nest and taken a mate, getting together as a family has become
a greater challenge than before.
Newly formed families soon learn it’s not possible to attend two
Thanksgiving dinners simultaneously. Typically a choice is made to alternate
having Thanksgiving at her folks place this year and at his folks place next
year. This works reasonably well where families are separated by large distances,
and in cases were the distances are not great, it opens the opportunity for
multiple Thanksgiving celebrations, just not simultaneous ones.
In Rayanne’s family, it was their turn to have Thanksgiving with the
Adamses. Felicia has married into a family of "sticklers" with respect to
Thanksgiving. They all pile into Grandma’s house near Taylor, Mississippi
for a noon meal on Thanksgiving Day. As far as I can tell, the
"her-folks-his-folks-turn-about" rule is not applicable. That could change,
now that Felicia is in the family, but I doubt it will, at least not as long
as Grandma is around. Brett and Kathy were not able to make the trip from
Pearl this year, but I don’t recall the reason, which could range from
Kathy’s medical studies, Brett’s work schedule, kenneling their
two dogs, to Thanksgiving at Kathy’s parents.
Needless to say, the crowd was rather thin for the noon meal at Sarah’s
on Thanksgiving Day. There could have been seven at the table, but non-family
members Sam Lester and Patrick Mulvihill didn’t make it. However, Father
Pete came, and with Sarah, Barbara, Jason, and me a good time of food and
fellowship was enjoyed by all.
We actually had turkey with our "chicken and dressing"
and the usual complement of sides and casseroles. Though she swore she
wasn’t going to make the frozen salad Aunt Billie called Idiot’s
Delight, Sarah caved at the last minute and it was among the offerings. Sarah
claims no one eats it except Felicia and her, but that’s inaccurate.
Father Pete enjoyed it, as did I at the second Thanksgiving dinner that evening.
Sarah says she doesn’t like to cook, but you’d never know it from
all the food she prepares for Thanksgiving. What she means is she doesn’t
like to cook, regularly. This year Sarah outdid herself with desserts. There
were seven of them consisting of: Sweet Potato Pie, Pecan Pie, Apple/ Cranberry
Pie, Chocolate Leaf Cake, Pumpkin Roll, a second Sweet Potato Pie whose
ingredients were slightly different from the other pie, and the cake to best
all cakes – Better Than Sex With Elvis Cake – which derives its
name from the fact that it is a combination of the Better Than Sex Cake and
the Elvis Cake. It was beautifully decorated with nuts and dried fruit and
by all accounts delicious, but having sworn myself to eat in moderation,
I managed to avoid it.
Felicia had insisted she didn’t
want leftovers for the evening meal, and had I been in charge of the meal,
she’d have been out of luck. Everybody knows warmed-over dressing is
better that the original. Nonetheless, Sarah held back a batch of dressing
to cook that evening, just to keep Felicia happy.
There are two persnickety eaters in our brood who don’t particularly
care for chicken and dressing. One is my wife’s son, and the other is
my daughter’s husband. It’s not that they won’t eat it, but
they prefer to have something else to fill their stomachs. Jason fired up
the grill around dusk and, with limited assistance from Dad, prepared some
rather tasty Buffalo wings and chicken drumettes. Barbara made a dish of
Poppy Seed Chicken, and we transported all of it to Sarah’s for supper.
The Belmont foursome, Anna and her boyfriend, and Felicia and Cullen brought
the total number fed at the second Thanksgiving dinner to twelve.
Of the seven desserts, I picked Sweet Potato Pie. Sarah had made it with
lots of real butter and heavy cream, and while I had confidence that all
of the desserts were delicious, I saw no reason to try another one when the
pie I was eating was so good. Over the next few days, I had occasion to eat
some of the pecan pie and the chocolate cake, both of which were marvelous,
but the Sweet Potato Pie was my favorite.
Thanksgiving dinner number three was held at noon on Saturday. Three of my
nieces on Barbara’s side of the family were unable to come on Thanksgiving
Day, so Barbara invited them to our house for Saturday. Cheryl brought her
fiancé, Jerry. Brigitte brought her new husband Will, and Rhea brought
herself. Additionally, Rayanne brought her two youngest daughters to round
out the out-of-towners. Sarah, Barbara and I brought the total to eleven,
and with Jason arriving late we fed a total of twelve.
We kept to a Thanksgiving theme for the meal but had baked, bone-in ham instead
of chicken and dressing. Sarah brought a couple of leftover casseroles and
some desserts, but mostly the meal was freshly prepared.
As our respective families grow, it may be inevitable that three Thanksgivings
will become the norm. Off course, multiple meals might be avoided if we simply
changed our observance of the holiday to a Saturday rather than Thursday.
I won’t say "never," to such a plan, but I hope Sarah, Barbara and I
can hang on to our family tradition.
New Dishwasher
Sarah Makes A Decision
Months ago Sarah complained her dishwasher was leaking. I asked Durwood Young
if a clogged sewer line could be the cause, but he suggested it was more
likely a bad seal in the bottom of the dishwasher.
I priced the dishwashers that Durwood had to offer and passed the information
along to Barbara, who suggested we purchase one for Sarah, who had depleted
her savings to pay for Felicia’s wedding. I withdrew sufficient funds
from my savings at Mid-Delta Credit Union in Indianola to make the purchase,
but Sarah balked at our gesture of goodwill.
I now realize we should have picked out the dishwasher and had it installed
while Sarah was at work, which would have taken her out of the decision making
process and she would probably have been all right with our gift.
As Thanksgiving neared, Sarah began to consider again her need of a dishwasher.
"I think I’ll just buy two," she remarked. "I’ll have one on each
side of the sink. I don’t need all that drawer space. They can cut a
place for one can’t they?
"I don’t think Durwood’s crew does that but a carpenter or cabinet
maker could do it," I responded, as I considered my sister might be losing
her mind in wanting two dishwashers that would only be needed once or twice
a year after a large family gathering.
The Saturday night before Thanksgiving, Sarah lamented her need for a dishwasher,
once more, "I should have gotten Durwood to bring me a dishwasher today.
I’ve got to work every day next week until Thanksgiving and they won’t
install one if I’m not at home."
I remarked that I’d be around Wednesday if someone needed to be at home,
but my comment went largely unheeded, possibly unheard, as Sarah’s rant
continued. Sometimes talking to my sister is like conversing beneath a tin
roof during a hail storm and requires a loud voice.
Wednesday morning I checked in with Durwood at Young’s Appliances to
make sure he had the model Barbara and I had picked out months earlier and
to see if it could be installed that day.
"I can deliver it," Durwood stated hesitantly, "But I don’t know about
installing it. Alford and Randy are working on another job, but Alford’s
become a specialist. He don’t install dishwashers anymore and only certain
models of other appliances. I’ve got a man that helps me a couple of
days each week and he’s supposed to be here later this morning. I have
a job for him that’s ahead of your sister’s dishwasher, but he
should be able to do both."
Durwood figured the price, and I phoned Sarah to let her know to have a check
ready. About noon, Sarah phoned me to say her dishwasher was being installed,
and she had to get back to work.
Mr. Fitts was struggling to get the old dishwasher disconnected and out from
under the cabinet. The upper layer of linoleum had been installed after the
old dishwasher was in place and this created a problem with the front legs
hanging on the linoleum while trying to slide it out. With our combined efforts
the dishwasher finally slid out properly, after which I settled down to watch
the work.
I once replaced a dishwasher at our house on 8th Street. As I
recall, it took me a half-day or longer. Since then, I’ve considered
the extra charge for installation is money well spent.
Mr. Fitts’ work progressed routinely until he tried to connect the new
drain hose to the fitting on the garbage disposal unit. Apparently, the disposer
was as old as the sink. The cast aluminum connector was so corroded that
it crumbled. He explained the hose didn’t have to connect to the disposal
unit but there was virtually no room to tie-in to the existing plumbing beneath
the sink. Instead of having to replace all the plumbing, I called Durwood
and ordered a new disposal.
Randy soon arrived, bringing two.
"I’ve got a Whirlpool and a Kitchen Aid. The Whirlpool is twenty dollars
cheaper, but if you want it, we’ll have to borrow some parts from the
Kitchen Aid."
I didn’t doubt the borrowed parts would work, but I chose the Kitchen
Aid to be on the safe side. Barbara stopped by later to check on the project,
and I asked her to write a check for the disposer.
"Sarah won’t even notice the disposer," I commented.
Replacing the disposal unit was a good decision, for when the old unit was
being removed, piece after piece either broke away or crumbled.
In all, the two installs took more than four hours. I was worn out and had
provided little assistance, but it doesn’t take much in the way of bending
and squatting to wear me out. Mr. Fitts, my senior by four years, seemed
no worse for wear, and as he was leaving told me he had one install to complete
that afternoon.
Barbara asked Sarah that evening if she noticed the new disposer. She had
not, and grimaced when asking how much it cost.
"We’ve already paid for it," Barbara stated. "Don’t worry about
it."
Presently, Sarah is enjoying both new appliances, while calculating how soon
she’ll be able to replace the stove.
Christmas
Memory
I’ve wracked my brain trying to come up with a full memory of one Christmas,
but my memories are full of bits and pieces of different times at Christmas.
Christmas revolved around going to my Grandma Lois’ house in Arlington,
which to a kid seemed to take forever to get to from our home in Frayser.
We eventually moved to Eads where I could literally go over the creek and
through the woods to get to my Grandma’s house. Christmas at her house
was very big and very loud and very fun.
We ate in two separate rooms since we couldn’t all fit at one table.
We would linger over dessert and coffee and the guys would eventually wind
up in the living room to watch football. Granddaddy would always drift off
to sleep, his head jerking back until you thought the poor man would get
whiplash, oblivious to all the hoopin’ and hollerin’ at the game
from the rest of the family. The only thing that woke him up was his own
snoring. Around mid-afternoon, whoever was left would wander back into the
kitchen for round two.
The tree was another story. Grandma had a walk-in attic which made it easy
to bag up the artificial tree at the end of the season in black garbage bags
and store it away until the next Christmas where someone would lug it back
down and set it up, pretty much already decorated. I do remember helping
decorate the rest of the tree under her supervision.
The first "gifts" under the tree were bricks wrapped in Christmas paper.
This is a totally Southern thing. Please don’t ask us why we do this
– we just do. It’s one of the eccentric things that makes us Southern.
Or maybe it’s a just a redneck thing. Anyway, the bricks would go under
the tree followed by tons of other gifts brought over the next couple of
weeks.
Every year my Uncle Pete would buy me a small AM/FM radio from Radio Shack.
It got to be a joke, but I loved every radio.
One year it was so warm we all played softball out in the backyard. Christmas
at Grandma’s though, was not an event I would miss for the world. I
loved the people, the laughter, the roar of the football crowd, and the food.
Grandma Lois has been gone a few years, and as with most families, she was
the anchor which held us all together for a few times of the year. Her needs
were simple – she loved to cook, and she loved people. I miss her terribly,
but I will always cherish the memories of Christmas at her house.
Bodock Beau
Kids Off Track
Psst! The Editor said it wasn’t too late to submit your Christmas Memory.
I think he’s used up all of his in past issues.
Tell The Truth
A young boy walked up to his father and asked, "Dad, does a lawyer ever tell
the truth?"
The father thought for a moment. "Yes, son, sometimes a lawyer will do anything
to win a case."
Kids Off Track
Kids statements that are a little... off track:
God bless America thru the night with a light from a bulb!
Give us this day our deli bread! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and
to the Whole East Coast.
We shall come to Joyce's, bringing in the cheese.
Gladly, the consecrated, cross-eyed bear.
He carrots for you.
Yield Not to Penn Station.
Dust Around the Throne.
Praise God From whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures, HERE WE
GO
Olive, the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names.
While shepherds washed their socks by night
He socked me and boxed me with His redeeming glove.
In our family, a real effort is made to make certain every family
member has a chance of enjoying a Thanksgiving feast. That not every family
member participates is not the fault of the host. My sister, Sarah or as
we sometimes call her, Sara Sue, has in recent years assumed responsibility
for hosting our family Thank sgiving dinner. Because certain family members
have left the nest and taken a mate, getting together as a family has become
a greater challenge than before.
We actually had turkey with our "chicken and dressing"
and the usual complement of sides and casseroles. Though she swore she
wasn’t going to make the frozen salad Aunt Billie called Idiot’s
Delight, Sarah caved at the last minute and it was among the offerings. Sarah
claims no one eats it except Felicia and her, but that’s inaccurate.
Father Pete enjoyed it, as did I at the second Thanksgiving dinner that evening.
Felicia had insisted she didn’t
want leftovers for the evening meal, and had I been in charge of the meal,
she’d have been out of luck. Everybody knows warmed-over dressing is
better that the original. Nonetheless, Sarah held back a batch of dressing
to cook that evening, just to keep Felicia happy.
