THANKSGIVING DINNERS - PAST AND PRESENT

By Olivene Godfrey

Thanksgiving dinners in my life seem to all merge together until we moved to our house in 1978.  My late husband Ralph would build a fire in our large fireplace on Thanksgiving morning.  Then he would settle in his recliner in front of the TV and prepare for a day of watching football games and eating a bountiful dinner.  Meanwhile, I would be in the kitchen cooking the dinner I had been preparing for a week or two.  The day before Thanksgiving, I would have made candied yams, green beans, pumpkin and mincemeat pies.  I had also brought out the holiday linens, china and flatware for the special day.  Some years we would have guests but most of the time, Ralph, Barry and I would dine alone and we'd eat the delicious food until we were about to pop.

After Ralph died in 2002, we went out and ate in a restaurant which wasn't a pleasant experience.  I cooked dinner until I became too feeble to cook and Barry took over the kitchen.  A couple of years we ate Thanksgiving dinner with Tam at her family home and enjoyed it.

This year Barry has more experience in the kitchen.  So, he's going to cook a butterball turkey breast for our Thanksgiving day dinner.  If you follow the instructions on the breast, it will be delicious.  He can manage a few side dishes and we'll have a good dinner.

See you next time.  Comments welcomed.  (As told to Tam)