Do you remember when the Today Show featured Matt Lauer in a globe-spanning adventure called “Where in the World is Matt Lauer?” This segment sent Lauer to various locations in the world from where he reported on the importance of each location. Regions visited included Iran, Croatia, Hong Kong, and to points of interest such as the Panama Canal, the Great Wall of China, and more. He never knew when or where he would end up. With this said, I feel a bit like him, though nowhere near the far-reaching destinations he was blessed to see.
By the time you read this, I could be in Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, or perhaps Oklahoma. Depending on my success, or lack thereof, my traversing of the Midwest will be in full swing with stick and string and thunder stick. This article may even run during Thanksgiving, or perhaps a week before. I get lost sometimes by “churning” my writings to Jimmye. I trust her to keep them in order though. I owe you, Jimmye. Rest assured, wherever I am, I’m thinking of Thanksgiving. Hopefully, I will be home by then, but that depends on how the bucks are acting. For decades, I have been back to carve the turkey, but I always present the scenario to Stacey that I may not make it back in time. Time will tell.
Thanksgiving may be my favorite holiday of the year. Sure, Christmas is special for obvious reasons, but there is something magical about Thanksgiving and what it also means. The kitchen aromas filtering down our streets through our quaint neighborhoods is something I not only notice at home, but this also brings back so many wonderful memories when I was a kid. I was always fascinated by the process my mother undertook when it was time to make the dressing. Without a doubt, my mom’s was the best. Stacey, and my sister Jan, come close but it’s still not Mrs. Carol’s. I hope I don’t get in trouble with them, but at least they can’t hit me with a rolling pin, for I’m probably still sitting on the edge of a canyon with rattling horns in my lap. Y’all just keep practicing, and I’ll be the taste tester. The cranberry sauce, the basted turkey, the sweet potato casserole, and the rest of the “fixins” remain embedded within my nostrils and my stomach. As important as the kitchen is this time of year, there is more to Thanksgiving than a simmering pot on the stove.
Most neighborhoods frown upon burning the piles of leaves we have accumulated since leaf abscission began a few months ago. As much fun as it was/is to toss a match into the refuse, it was more fun for us kids to run to and dive into the piles. We would make goal lines for our daily football games with the waist-high piles and when a touchdown was made, through the mountain we ran. There is still something special about the neighborhood football game and seldom do I see this anymore. I wonder why this is. Perhaps you should invite your children and grandchildren to begin this tradition again. In fact, why don’t you get off that couch and join in the fun. Do you think you could handle it?
Speaking of football, do you think Charlie Brown is going to kick that football through the goalpost this Thanksgiving? I’m still a kid at heart when it comes to these cartoons and animated holiday programs. They are as traditional as the holidays themselves are. Lately, I haven’t watched anything but a computer screen. This won’t change until I take the bull by the horns and settle in for a relaxing evening to watch Linus, Lucy, Charlie Brown, and the rest of the gang. We need more kids playing in our lawns and having fun. A cacophony of laughter is good for the soul. Just listening to children laughing and watching them romp through the shrubs looking for the football will put everyone in the spirit. Make sure you “google” the airtime for the Thanksgiving special. It’s not far away.
I noticed many of the Halloween pumpkins have either withered away or have been placed on the street alongside the trash cans. Many doors are still adorned with fall foliage and seasonal wreaths, but they won’t be here much longer. Christmas décor with holly leaves, and Posssumhaw berries will soon take their place. Thanksgiving décor is almost as special as the bright lights and the nativity scenes we associate with Christmas. One of my favorite pieces is the “Horn of Plenty.”
The horn of plenty, also known as the cornucopia, is a symbol of abundance and good fortune that is often depicted as a large, horn-shaped container overflowing with fruits, nuts, and flowers. It is a traditional feature of feasts and is believed to represent the horn of a goat from Greek mythology. The Latin translation of cornucopia is cornu (horn) and copiae (plenty). Explanations of its origins vary, with some ancient sources attributing the horn to the goat of Amalthea, which suckled Zeus on Crete when he was hidden there by his mother Rhea from his child-eating father Cronus. When Zeus accidentally broke off one of the goat’s horns, it became imbued with the power to be filled with whatever the owner might desire. Do you have this symbol of good fortune on your kitchen counter or table? I remember in grade school filling “horns” made of a basket-like material with can goods, fruits, candy, and other staples that our class would donate to a chosen family. It was so much fun making this arrangement in our classroom. I will invite you to carry on this tradition and teach your children and grandchildren about the meaning of the horn of plenty.
We all know the history of Thanksgiving and the celebration by the Pilgrims with the Native Americans that helped them through the first year after landing at Plymouth Rock. After the brutal winter, three days of feasting took place somewhere between September 21st and November 11th, 1621. The Pilgrim feast was cooked by four women who survived their first winter in the New World. According to accounts by Wampanoag descendants, the harvest feast was set up for the Pilgrims alone (contrary to the common misconception that the Wampanoag were invited for their help with the harvest). Part of the harvest celebration involved a demonstration of arms by the colonists and the Wampanoag, having entered into a mutual protection agreement with the colonists and likely mistaking the celebratory gunfire for an attack by a common enemy, arrived fully armed. The Wampanoag were welcomed to join the celebration, as their farming and hunting techniques had produced much of the bounty for the Pilgrims and contributed their own foods to the meal. I love the role hunting plays in the history of our country.
So, how much do you enjoy our “Thanksgiving” and this time of year? Do you still enjoy the leaves falling, the ruckus in the kitchen, and the mayhem of children scurrying down the streets and through the lawns? Is “Over the River and Through the Woods” one of your favorite songs of the season? I still listen to it quite often this time of year. I bet you’ll look it up after reading this. I certainly hope you will. Yes, Thanksgiving is magical, indeed. I hope you enjoy it for all it offers. It will be gone quickly, if not already. Remember, I’m still not sure when this will arrive at your doorstep. I’ll be returning soon though, let me know how your turkey turned out. I’ll let you know how ours was too. See you soon and Happy Thanksgiving. Until next time enjoy our woods and waters and remember, let’s leave it better than we found it.
