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November 21, 2006

Thankspanicking

Saturday Evening Post, Nov. 29, 1947
Burnt Turkey by Constantin Alajalov

Thanks angst? Ever been at a Thanksgiving dinner where the tension of getting the perfect meal on the table resulted in hurt feelings and a meal eaten in sullen silence?

I thought so.

Michele Martinez at Lipstick Chronicles started panicking a week ago.

I think what's unnerving me is simply this -- I'm getting old.

That's right. I'm not the guest any more, I'm the hostess. I'm not the kid, I'm the grown-up. Okay, I've been at the grown-ups' table at holidays for many years now. Many, many years. But never at the head. I was always one of the young grown-ups. My parents and their generation were still the hosts.

Would a page of memories of Thanksgiving "disasters" help? (Lesson: Keep pets outside, remove the giblets bag, frozen may stay that way.)

New rule: The aim is a fun feast with family and friends. The perfect meal is the one we end up with. If we burn the green beans, forget the rolls or drop the milk, it's okay. "Oops" will do.

Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,
From North and from South come the pilgrim and guest,
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored,
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before,
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?

-- John Greenleaf Whittier, from The Pumpkin

More Thanksgiving Post covers.

The Anti-Black Friday: Buy Nothing Day: "Every November, for 24 hours, we remember that no one was born to shop, we make a small choice to participate by not participating...."

The group's TV Spots for 2006

Global streaming TV stations: WWITV: World Wide Internet TeleVision. The portal page boasts 1,786 online TV stations listed.

I caught a music video in Benin, and a bit of the news in Senegal, in French.

More NFL: Thursday night and some Saturday night games are kicking in now. If you have Cox digital cable, they're all on Channel 137 at 8 p.m.

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 7:56 AM | Permalink

Comments

No ThanksPanic here in Pawtucket. I'll be serving curry chicken with snow peas and carrots. Dessert will be banana fritters rolled in sugar (real sugar, not that nasty powdered stuff). The only potential panic is if I overdo the cayenne pepper and my friends call out the fire department.

- Thankful in Pawtucket for the Turkey Rebellion!

Posted by: Alan Fraser on November 21, 2006 8:33 AM