Ghost of Thanksgivings Pasts

 

 

1956-1959 The Reading/Stoneham Football games and coming home to all the wonderful smells of pies and turkey prepared by my grandmother. Just the four of us: grandmother, mother, brother and me.

1962 As a new bride in Stuttgart, Germany, I only had an electric coil to cook with. I did open cans of turkey and cranberry sauce bought from the PX.

1963 We now had an apartment with a real kitchen. In the PX in Stuttgart going up to a motherly-looking women and asking her how to cook a turkey. It worked. The turkey was good.

Late 1960s early 1970s Aunts, Uncles, Stepmom and Dad with wonderful food and penny poker after.

1970s Aunt Millie's in Connecticut...a definite over the hills and thru the woods feeling. Sweet and sour meatballs was one of the appetizers and they were made with Grapeade and Ketchup. Housemate's family and my daughter.

1986 Panic call from my daughter that there was an "emergency." The bus hadn't arrived to take the band to the Boston Latin/Boston English football game. I drove them in relays and mentioned "emergency" should be used for something more serious. 

1988 Dinner at my brother's cooked by his pregnant wife. I went with my Yugoslavian exchange student. My daughter was overseas. My mother refused to come because she thought we should go to her house. My brother caved and took her a plate of all the good things my sister-in-law had cooked.

Mid 1990s Introducing Thanksgiving to Swiss, Dutch, German friends in the little house used for entertaining where I was living in Payerne, Switzerland. Friends came from the States to help. My daughter brought the turkey from Mannheim, Germany where she was a student.

1996 I told my assistant that I was homesick because it was Thanksgiving and even though it was an Armenian family, her mom baked me a pumpkin pie that I took home that night. Heaven.

Late 1990s I appeared on English radio in Geneva to discuss Thanksgiving.

Late 1990 Bought a turkey, couldn't get the oven to work so went to a Chinese Restaurant with my daughter and a Brit friend.

2003-2013 Thanksgiving at various Geneva restaurants who were doing a special meal for American clients or cooked it at home. A couple of years we bought the turkey already cooked from a store in Collogny, where Shelley et. al. once lived. Frankenstein was born in this village over looking Lake Geneva. Combinations of friends and family.

2020+ Thanksgiving in Argelès-sur-mer. The local butcher special ordered a whole turkey each time. I would have to cut it in two to fit into the small oven. Included two close American neighbors. Thanks to the American store in Geneva I was able to get things like cranberry sauce, canned pumpkin and Bell's stuffing seasoning. During the pandemic we broke curfews and shutdowns. We didn't get Covid.

2022 Thanksgiving the Sunday before. Invited by our landlords who also invited their friends of many, many years. They provided turkey and basics plus wine. Everyone else contributed a dish. A truly wonderful evening of warmth and sharing.

Thanksgiving day...a normal Swiss day. However, later in the day I will find out who won this year's Reading/Stoneham and Boston Latin/Boston English traditional football games.

As for being thankful? It is far too huge to measure.