A Get Together

Since Thanksgiving is around the corner, it's on everyone lips. Anyone you talk to in the last couple of day, the conversation will end up with talk about upcoming Thanksgiving but mostly about pass Thanksgivings.

It's almost always the same story, large family get together. And it was one of the only times the whole family made a concerted effort to be together. And it was everyone, aunts, uncles, grandparents, parents, kids and grand kids, the whole kit an caboodle. Another thing that is always part of the story was the kids table. And I can remember being a part of the kids table for a long time. And even as I was dating my wife and spending Thanksgiving with her family, I was once again relegated to the kids table. But for me,at the time, it was OK, because at the adult table the talk was half English and half Slovak. And I couldn't understand Slovak either.

Another thing that went on at the Thanksgiving celebration, was that after dinner the adults would bring out the whiskey bottle and do a couple of shots. The drink of choice was usually rye whiskey, Seagram's 7 or Schenley's. To me, as a youth, these whiskeys tasted like drain cleaner. But they were good times and a real feeling of family, a big family.

One of the things that is always mentioned now about Thanksgiving is that the numbers are dwindling. The older relatives are dieing, the young ones are moving away, and things are not the same. But everyone seems to make a effort to have some sort of gathering to celebrate together. Not with all family members but with new friends that have become a big part in your life. It's one of the holidays that I really enjoy, even though I spend 2 day preparing the meal that everyone devourers in half and hour. It feels really good to be around family and friends to continue a tradition that has been going on generation after generation for hundreds of years. So enjoy and celebrate.