Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday. No gifts (hence no shopping), minimal decorating, three basic elements: food, family, friends. Today I began to make the lists, think of the “sides” we’ll eat and enjoy, and polish the silver. It wasn’t a pretty sight:
And as I stood at the sink, with my hands in the comforting hot water, touching each piece of silver, I reviewed a number of favorite stories, thought of a number of favorite people (some now gone from us). Space and time don’t permit the telling of the tales, but I think the titles are okay. Bon & Rog and the Wedding Candle- Sticks, Carolyn Hull Johnson and the Baroque Silver Trove, Daddy & the Art Deco Coffee Pot, Four Babies, Nana’s Cookies, 550 Custer Street, 2201, 234, 611, 930, and other addresses of the past. Gabrielle’s Towels from Mexico, Bru’s Cranberry sauce, Marie’s Mashed Potatoes, and on. Stories similar to the stories every family has, but nicely specific on this November morning. And so after cleaning the silver and thinking of my loved ones fondly…VOILA!
On The Way 
Thanks for striking the tuning forks of memory. Looking forward to getting all those nice dishes dirty (and cleaning them…that’s my job), and continuing the story of family Thanksgiving.
…and I didn’t even mention Emma dancing in the kitchen and Doug’s good humor and Roger’s ability to squeeze everyone in at the table…oh my!!
Very, very nice. Thanks for inspiring a rummage through the memory attic. Now I am thinking of Uncle John goading me on to the tune of the Saber Dance. And Bru, riding on an ATV with me at the Miller’s, in the forest preserve, being catapulted over my head when I wedged the thing between two trees. And Nana’s cookies, of course. Thanks!
That was me, big guy, being catapulted over your head. It’s a very clear memory for me… Twilight, bombing through the trees, me hanging on to you for dear life, you seeing a gap between two trees that seemed reasonable until one of the big balloon tires hit the tree trunk and then all hell broke loose giving way to flight…
Oops. Thanks for the correction, and even more thanks that there were no inuries!