Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Guest Column

Longing for yesterday's Thanksgiving

By MARC J. YACHT, Guest Columnist
Published November 21, 2007

Our Telford, Pa., relatives, Jimmy and Emily, played host to Thanksgiving dinner in their lovely Bucks County home. The annual family gathering began early in the afternoon and brought the entire clan together.

Typically, snow blanketed the property. The children took command of the grounds, partaking in snowball fights, sledding and other winter activities. The adults sought refuge indoors.

While the women disappeared into the kitchen, the men watched football or caught up on the past year. This yearly gathering was the only opportunity to spend time with the entire family. The cheerful conversation lead to much laughter as each relative tried to out-do the other recounting events of the past year or revisiting old family tales.

When the dinner bell rang, the children were relegated to the den to sit around card tables on folding chairs. The adults filled the dining room and overflowed into the living salon. Schnitzel, the dachshund, quietly meandered from guest to guest in search of treats.

Once everyone was in place for dinner, all eyes turned to me for my annual address. I stood and said what I had said each year since my second Thanksgiving gathering: "Every year we meet here for dinner and it's the same thing - turkey, turkey, turkey."

Laughter and applause followed my commentary and then the bowls of soup and salad quickly appeared. Cornbread and other breads were followed by roasted turkeys, hams, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn-on-a-cob, candied yams, cranberry sauce, asparagus and gravies.

Dinner started at 4:30 p.m. and typically concluded about 7 p.m. after we polished off an array of desserts. The women assisted in the cleanup while most of the men found some place to snooze. Some tolerated the icy weather and relaxed on large porch chairs to smoke. By 8:30, families gathered children, expressed their appreciation to the hosts and left.

So many are gone now. The hosts, Jimmy and Emily, died years ago. I still remember the tearful call they made when their beloved Schnitzel died at 17 years of age. There were divorces and deaths, children grew up and moved away, and the annual banquet faded into history.

Somehow, the Florida winter season leaves one unfulfilled. Yet a Florida Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season and lifts the spirits through the new year and still brings many families together that are scattered about the country.

Now, our Thanksgiving dinner involves the children and rarely other relatives, who are having their own festivities and live far away. The Mongolian feast has been replaced by more heart-healthy fare. The dinner wraps up in less than one hour. I no longer stand and give my traditional speech.

I miss the annual Thanksgiving feast in Telford. Ours is a healthier meal, and our property is smoke-free with no risk of getting hit by a snowball, but I'd give a lot to see Jimmy and Emily again along with the array of crazy relatives, wild children and Schnitzel.

Marc J. Yacht of Hudson is retired director of the Pasco Health Department.

[Last modified November 20, 2007, 21:37:47]