Another Thanksgiving holiday is upon
us and I always take time to ponder the things I am thankful for but this year I
am also thinking about the changes that have taken place over my lifetime. Back-in-the-day (I am old enough to use that
expression and it actually has meaning) as a young lad I really enjoyed the
holiday season. First, Halloween
followed by Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve managed to offset the
after Labor Day plague of school homework with visions of “tons” of candy,
turkey and pumpkin pie, and presents, and the ever popular 1 ½ to 2 weeks of
time off from school.
Thanksgiving
was marked by comments like “stay out of my way” or “stay out of the kitchen while
I’m fixing the turkey” or “you can help best by going outside and play while I
get this meal done.” It was hard (read
that as impossible) for a young boy to stay away from the kitchen when all
those marvelous aromas kept wafting (to me at the time “pouring”) out of the
kitchen. Naturally, mother had to
“remind” me to “Stay out!” and “Keep away from that pie!” all with an elevated
voice (to be polite about her emphasis).
However, at last, all the waiting was done and the most excellent of all
meals was consumed (for several days after also) only to be repeated at
Christmas dinner.
I can remember
that Thanksgiving was “promoted” not only on school bulletin boards in the
classrooms where each teacher and students would try to have the best
Thanksgiving displays in the entire school.
My class’s was clearly the best each and every time but, those biased
judges never managed to pick my class as the winner.
The community
also decorated for Thanksgiving. Mostly
it was done by the various businesses by putting up window decorations. The department stores fancied up their window
displays with Thanksgiving themes surrounding the mannequins on display. Sadly, this “custom” did not last as the movement
to purchase gifts for Christmas began to gain momentum in the business
community moved the Christmas displays ever earlier in the year finally
eclipsing Thanksgiving in favor of making the “almighty dollar” sooner rather
than later. Once again, greed conquered
gratefulness in our society. Now only
the truly dedicated believers in a “higher power” take time to remember why the
Thanksgiving Day holiday was created. It
saddens me.
Fortunately, I
remember the purpose of the holiday so here is my list of things I am thankful
and grateful for this season.
I am thankful for: being alive at 65;
having good health; my deceased wife; all my children; the opportunity to be
educated; living in The United States; learning to read via phonics in
Minnesota schools; living with my grandparent’s and uncle on a farm for two
years; being lonely enough to join the Boy Scouts; my brother and sister; my
father and all he has done for and to me; my mother and step-father; all my
mistakes whether or not I learned from them; as they were the catalyst for my
coming out; all my acquaintances at SAGE’s Telling Your Story group, and Prime
Timers; and finally that I was not aborted but allowed to live and have all the
adventures and experiences I had and will have in the future.
© 25 November 2013
About the Author
I was born in June of 1948 in Los Angeles, living first in
Lawndale and then in Redondo Beach. Just
prior to turning 8 years old in 1956, I began living with my grandparents on
their farm in Isanti County, Minnesota for two years during which time my
parents divorced.
When united with my mother and stepfather two years later
in 1958, I lived first at Emerald Bay and then at South Lake Tahoe, California,
graduating from South Tahoe High School in 1966. After three tours of duty with the Air Force,
I moved to Denver, Colorado where I lived with my wife and four children until
her passing away from complications of breast cancer four days after the 9-11
terrorist attack.
I came out as a gay man in the summer of 2010. I find writing these memories to be
therapeutic.
My story blog is, TheTahoeBoy.Blogspot.com.
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