Sunday, Nov. 22
By Katherine Schneider, for the CVPost
I’ll bet this Thanksgiving will create many special memories because of the changes in our routines caused by COVID.
It makes me think of two special Thanksgiving memories I savor.
We grew up in Kalamazoo, MI. My brother was a freshman at Northwestern University — a two-hour train ride from Kalamazoo – when this turkey event occurred.
For physical education credit, he’d taken a course in riflery. He had won a shooting contest and the prize was a large frozen turkey. So, he rode the train home with his suitcase and the thawing turkey. Since the turkey was lodged in the rack above the seats, his fellow passengers were not amused by the dripping bird.
When he got home, he proudly presented his prize to mom. Mom hated to cook and wasn’t even sure the oven was big enough for the bird. As the turkey finished thawing in the sink, she called around and found a bakery that would cook it for us.
The turkey was enjoyed, but the following year we went back to dining out for our Thanksgiving dinner. The tender memory lives on because it is one of my brother sharing what he had and the family adjusting to an unexpected event.
The other memory involves a dinner I hosted for some friends and a couple of university students from China. After stuffing ourselves, the students asked us Americans to teach them an American song.
None of us Americans were great singers and “The Star-Spangled Banner” seemed way out of our vocal reach. Finally, I came up with “We Shall Overcome” a favorite of mine. We sang, discussed, ate dessert and waddled around the neighborhood.
I’m thankful for you, my reader, and wish you good eating and tender memories from this COVID Thanksgiving.