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Posted by Kenneth Morgan
on 11/22/2007, 11:08 am
This week, Kenneth Morgan dwells on Turkey Days of years gone by.
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The following is a reprint of an article first posted in 1999, with a brief addendum:
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This week, I was asked to write an article about a good and memorable Thanksgiving Day in my past. Personally, I had no problem with this; I’m sure you won’t get upset at having to wait for my review of “Angry Red Planet”. But, I’m going to have to alter the premise a bit. You see, every Thanksgiving Day is a good and memorable one for me. That’s because, for a while, I had a run of really rotten Turkey Days. I’ll explain:
In mid-November of 1991, I was told that I went into the hospital for abdominal surgery. To be specific, doctors performed an illeostomy; to be general, they rearranged my internal plumbing. Due to complications, I was hospitalized for a solid month. So, that year, I spent Thanksgiving in bed, doped up on a variety of medications and connected to various bits of medical technology via various tubes. I recall seeing some of the Macy’s Parade, and some of my family visited. But, on the whole, it was a miserable day. Plus, no MST3K! (On a side note, that provided an odd experience, later. My stitches pulled and hurt whenever I laughed. When I got back home, I watched the “Posture Pals” short and suffered what could only be called “hilarious agony”.)
Flash forward about a year. In mid-October of 1992, my parents retired and moved up to our ancestral home in Pennsylvania. I was sharing our old house with my brother Pat, my other brothers having found other digs. Just before Thanksgiving, my Dad’s father passed away following an illness. That year, I spent the day before Thanksgiving serving as a pallbearer. The following day, with my family scattered and Pat with his friends, I had dinner alone. Plus, I had to fill in for the holiday at my radio job. Actually, that wasn’t too bad; it got my mind off things.
Over the next couple of years, it was pretty much the same thing. My brothers Bruce and Don, both married, spent Thanksgiving with their respective families. Mom and Dad were up in Pennsylvania with my Mom’s parents, who by that time were in, respectively, a senior care home (Grandpa) and a nursing home (Grandma). My brother Brian (a frequent contributor to “Caption This!”) had moved in with me and Pat. But, they both had other plans for Thanksgiving. So, there I was, alone with my dinner and watching the clock to get to work. I did watch some MST3K (one time it was the extremely funny “The Violent Years”), but it didn’t really help.
By 1995, I’d had just about enough. I went to my parents and asked (correction, begged) them to come back to Jersey for Thanksgiving. They agreed, thank heavens. That year, and each year since, we’ve had a real Thanksgiving dinner. Pat and Bri are there, as are my brother Don’s family. My brother Bruce’s family usually has dinner with his in-laws, but they make it here in time for dessert. And I’m happy. I don’t even mind when I’ve got a TV or radio slot to do; I know that at least part of the day went fine.
So, you see, every Thanksgiving Day is a good one for me. Having seen low I could get on Turkey Day, practically anything would be an improvement. But, still, things have worked out fine. Since I come from a large family, I just can’t spend a happy Thanksgiving Day alone. Now, I know I won’t have to.
Besides, my Mom is an infinitely better cook than I am.
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ADDENDUM: Well, once again we’ll have a family gathering for Thanksgiving at my house, almost. My brothers Bruce & Don will be having dinner at their respective places with their respective families. Also, unfortunately, my niece is currently incarcerated during the Holiday, though he hope she’ll be out in time for Christmas. So, things aren’t perfect this year.
Still, Mom & Dad are here. This is particularly good, as my Dad has been pretty sick for a while. He has shown some improvement, though, and we’re certainly thankful for that. Later on today, they, my brothers Pat & Bri and I will gather around the table for dinner. And, as I’ve noted, things have and will turn out fine.
Just as long as I can survive “Castle of Fu Manchu” later on.
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