Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving

Or does this holiday make you nervous too? Are you afraid that Aunt Em won't get along with Cousin Harry? Will Grandmother Nellie forget her brother is long dead? Will the vegetarians insist on a laboroius main course with brussel sprouts and cumin? Will the meat eaters make fun of the meatless side dishes? Will the males watch football, waiting for the call to the table? Did we give the great grandparents enought attention? Will long-standing grievances be brought out to air? Will the question of when dinner should be served be bandied about? Will the side dishes be a source of anquish? Is a bottle of cheap wine recompense for hours of labor? Will the same people do all the work? Will the out-of-towners expect to be feted while those at home sulk and stew? Will we get into the annual war on religion-whether it has ruined the world or provides comfort and a moral code? What are the best movies of the year? Does Hillary Clinton deserve our support? Are Detroiters more racist than New Yorkers or those from Los Angeles or Minneapolis? What do we do about illegal aliens? I'm ready to run and hide. How about you? Is Thanksgiving at your house a peaceful day? And those damned Lions are gonna lose?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

You haven't lived till your crazy aunt wants to know why you (or I) as a vegetarian won't eat her delightful pork in Jello dish. Don't I know that God put the animals on the Earth for all of us to eat, particularly suspended in goo leached out of their cousins' hides and hooves?

Graham Powell said...

Ha, we're running away like cowards for a vacation in the mountains. See ya, suckers!

Anonymous said...

"Will the same people do all the work?" -- Um, yes. ... You so well summarized the angst I get in anticipation of big holidays. It has helped in recent years by just saying to myself, "I can't make everyone happy, and it's not my problem." I do like Graham's solution -- runing for the mountains. [Long sigh] Someday.

pattinase (abbott) said...

And then there's the debate over whether something cooked in chicken broth counts. And think of us in Detroit that have to watch the Lions lose every year. That puts us in a testy mood.

Anonymous said...

Well, even a lacto-ovo vegetarian might get some stomach upset from any chicken broth. Definitely don't feed to vegans, unless you hate them.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I learned my lesson about that issue 20 years ago but some cooks never even think about it.
A very sweet woman made spaghetti for a veggie a year ago and covered it with meat sauce. Never even occurred to her. If it couldn't walk away from the table, it didn't count.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I learned my lesson about that issue 20 years ago but some cooks never even think about it.
A very sweet woman made spaghetti for a veggie a year ago and covered it with meat sauce. Never even occurred to her. If it couldn't walk away from the table, it didn't count.

Anonymous said...

I love Thanksgiving. Previous years the only issue has been that it's so boring. It was just me and the three members of my immediate family. But this year I'm going to Becky's family thing with LOTS of people and that should be fun. They're all very laid back and even as the most liberal one in the group I'm still in sync with most of them. The only wrangling issue was getting my mom to share us at all but that's always an issue.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Oh Bryon-This is just the beginning of the continual debate over where you will to for every holiday. Another Turkey day joy.