Thanksgiving memories
“A Thanksgiving Story”
I just realized that Thanksgiving is only a week and a half away. Where did this year go? It seems like the older I get, the faster time goes. I wonder when you get near the end, if it will be like warp speed on Star Trek and everything will just be a blur. That would be kind of cool. Well depending on where you end up that is.
Anyway Thanksgiving always reminds me of family and big dinners. The whole family would show up at my Grandmother’s house and it was a great time. I remember one Thanksgiving most of all though. It was back in the 60’s and I was just a youngster. My father was in charge of getting the turkey. I think that was his assignment because they usually gave him free turkeys at work and he would supply it for the meal.
This one year, there were more relatives than usual attending so he had to “buy” a turkey because the one they gave him wasn’t big enough. A few days before Thanksgiving, my Dad and uncle brought home a nice big one. It was a fresh one though and not frozen like we usually had. Of course mom didn’t like it but dad told her that it was the only one he could find large enough so she went along with it.
So there we were at grandma’s house. There were about 30 people there. The turkey was on the table looking golden brown. The house smelled like turkey and dressing. The TV was on and the Thanksgiving parade was almost over. The blessing was said and everyone was busy filling their plates and getting ready to stuff themselves. You can imagine the scene. That’s when the mood changed.
As the parade ended, the news man came on with a local story. “Bob the turkey is missing” Bob was a pet turkey and the owner had left the gate open and he was missing. He had been gone for two days and there was a reward for his return. Things would have been ok if dad hadn’t looked at my uncle and smiled but he did and mom saw him and well you can imagine what happened.
The rest of the story: Dad and my uncle were driving home from a hunting trip and they saw this turkey running across the road so they harvested him. (That is a kind way of saying they shot him) At the time they didn’t know it was someone’s pet but knowing dad and my uncle, that wouldn’t have made a difference. He was the right size needed so they made up the story about buying it. It was like a gift from above. They needed a turkey, here was a turkey, it was meant to be.
Back to the meal: Hearing this, all the women refused to eat. All except grandma that is. She said “Well its already cooked and it looks good so why waste it.” So grandma, the kids and the men all ate that year and the women talked about it for as long as I can remember. Now that was a Thanksgiving to remember.
I just realized that Thanksgiving is only a week and a half away. Where did this year go? It seems like the older I get, the faster time goes. I wonder when you get near the end, if it will be like warp speed on Star Trek and everything will just be a blur. That would be kind of cool. Well depending on where you end up that is.
Anyway Thanksgiving always reminds me of family and big dinners. The whole family would show up at my Grandmother’s house and it was a great time. I remember one Thanksgiving most of all though. It was back in the 60’s and I was just a youngster. My father was in charge of getting the turkey. I think that was his assignment because they usually gave him free turkeys at work and he would supply it for the meal.
This one year, there were more relatives than usual attending so he had to “buy” a turkey because the one they gave him wasn’t big enough. A few days before Thanksgiving, my Dad and uncle brought home a nice big one. It was a fresh one though and not frozen like we usually had. Of course mom didn’t like it but dad told her that it was the only one he could find large enough so she went along with it.
So there we were at grandma’s house. There were about 30 people there. The turkey was on the table looking golden brown. The house smelled like turkey and dressing. The TV was on and the Thanksgiving parade was almost over. The blessing was said and everyone was busy filling their plates and getting ready to stuff themselves. You can imagine the scene. That’s when the mood changed.
As the parade ended, the news man came on with a local story. “Bob the turkey is missing” Bob was a pet turkey and the owner had left the gate open and he was missing. He had been gone for two days and there was a reward for his return. Things would have been ok if dad hadn’t looked at my uncle and smiled but he did and mom saw him and well you can imagine what happened.
The rest of the story: Dad and my uncle were driving home from a hunting trip and they saw this turkey running across the road so they harvested him. (That is a kind way of saying they shot him) At the time they didn’t know it was someone’s pet but knowing dad and my uncle, that wouldn’t have made a difference. He was the right size needed so they made up the story about buying it. It was like a gift from above. They needed a turkey, here was a turkey, it was meant to be.
Back to the meal: Hearing this, all the women refused to eat. All except grandma that is. She said “Well its already cooked and it looks good so why waste it.” So grandma, the kids and the men all ate that year and the women talked about it for as long as I can remember. Now that was a Thanksgiving to remember.
Comments
Sorry you were having nightmares about the war you were in. Our Granddaughter was over in Bagdad with a Missile Group out of Ft. Bliss, Tx, it's been several years but her mind is still messed up.
Thanks for your visit.
My parents also did the "chicks for easter" thing one year, only to realize as winter was fast approaching that there was no way these things would survive the winter in the skimpy coop we had them in. My sisters & I went to school one day and came home to hear that the next-door-neighbours had "invited" us over for barbeque that night. And at the same time my dad said that he'd found a farmer to take the chickens so that they wouldn't freeze during the winter. I was the only one who seemed to put 2 & 2 together when we were served barbeque chicken drumsticks. *sigh* I wonder if my sisters remember that, now that I think about it.
Oh, and to answer your question from a couple of weeks back.... I don't know if my uncle ever served my aunt lamb-chops for supper or not. It's not something I ever thought to ask.
Then I found out, they were not pets, but raised for eating.
Love your turkey story!!!
Inrestin' story ... how do you cook your turkeys up there ? Do you cut 'em up first or knock the feathers off and stuff it in the oven ?
Down here, we cook ours in a Weber. Of course it's mid summer here, so we cook outside.
Cheers - from Down Under.
john
Check out the santas on my garden site please.
What a great turkey story LOL! Thank goodness wise old Grandma took things in her hands so the meal could go on.