AHHHHHH the day before Thanksgiving and I'm sitting here with nothing to do. I don't work today, don't really have to cook much of anything
we're going somewhere for dinner tomorrow and it's raining (we really needed rain) so I can't take my usual bike ride or walk....so I have time to sit and reminisce
had to look that one up haha about past holidays.........................
When I was little (we lived in Bethel Park PA) my mother always made a big Thanksgiving dinner for us....don't remember anyone ever coming to visit. She would make the whole works....turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. Always had pumpkin pie and whipped cream, a bowlful of nuts for cracking and eating and don't forget the (York) peppermint patties. She always got out her good china and crystal and silverware. The table always looked wonderful...and my Dad was always a nervous wreck. Seven (at the time) kids at the table with those crystal goblets.....I can understand...haha. As soon as dinner was over we immediately had to clear the glasses off the table. Having made the whole dinner
once or twice in my life I realize what an undertaking that was for my
poor mother! But she did it every year and again at Christmas! Of course the Macy's parade was ALWAYS on the TV in the background. My Mom loved watching the parade!
Her twin brother Dave was a priest and her other brother Howard had been killed in World War II...so we had no cousins on her side of the family. My Dad had one brother in Connecticut, he had two children, but they didn't travel much....don't remember them ever coming to PA. So....it was just us.........7 kids and my parents.
However...I loed going to the hill to my friend Ruth's house.....because they always had company coming for Thanksgiving. I would go down in the morning, before the company arrived and play with Ruth and her sisters (Cindy, Mary, Georgie,and Kathy)
until dinnertime. I remember a couple of years their mother would have a big roll of paper, crayons and markers and the kids got to draw a Thanksgiving scene on it. Of course I got in on that! What a great way to keep the kids occupied before dinner!
When we moved to Florida it was the same thing....just the Burtons at the table.....but always in the dining room with the crystal and china. There was one year my parents went on a cruise to Jamaica and Puerto Rico over the Thanksgiving weekend....(.my Mom must have LOVED it!)....Meanwhile back at the ranch....Ellen was in charge
God Bless Her! and my Mom made sure there were 8 Turkey TV dinners (back when they were relatively new to the market) for us to enjoy (????)
on Thanksgiving...I believe we even ate them at the dining room table...hah minus the crystal and china! Someone made a pie at least! hahha
Of course during the college years Thanksgiving was the BEST time to go home...not just because there would actually be a balanced meal to eat...haha...but EVERYONE else was going to be in town too. Thanksgiving weekend was always the most fun...at the local bar Mac's on Fifth Avenue. You would see
everyone there...it was great fun.
The Gators weren't exactly the top team when I was at UF...so the game wasn't a big priority...but I do remember watching OTHER teams on TV....that was the other thing my Mom always enjoyed...watching college football...Michigan especially (my Dad's school). One year I brought a friend Betsy home...she couldn't get home to Chicago...so she came home with us....and survived the weekend! haha.Another memorable trip was my second year (I think) when my friend Liz was driving me home in her MGB GT (?)
Her stepfather owned a car repair shop...so she always had some kind of car...the little sporty car impressed all the guys especially...but it wasn't exactly what it appeared to be. (remember it was a car REPAIR shop...so it was used and while it ran...it always seemed to have some issue...however since my only form of transportation was a Schwinn bike...I was not concerned! haha) well...one year we were setting off for the trip home and we were the first two to depart from Gainesville. At the time in order to get the car going ...you had to push start it... so we figured once we got going we were going to have to keep going until we got home (3 hour trip approximately). We jokingly told my sister Ellen and our friends leaving later that if they saw us on the side of the road they better stop and help. Well we "shoved off" literally...haha and about an hour down the road we got a flat tire!.. AHHH OH...they might REALLY find us on the side of the road! No sweat...
well maybe a little sweat...inexperienced driver that I was and Liz "kind of" knowing what we needed to do Shortly after we got out the jack and were attempting to get the repairs underway some guy in a NICE sporty little car (don't know what kind...I am not a big car lover...it was black) hopped out of his car, got HIS jack and had the tire fixed in no time...(I'm sure he loved helping the damsels in distress...two 19 year old girls....why not!) We thanked him and then got in and thought "Oh crap...what if we have to ask him to push us? hahahahaha" God was looking out for us and the engine fired right up and we were off! Now we were felling quite confident and decided we could make a stop somewhere along the way and decided once we got to Kissimee (another 45 minutes down the road) we would stop at this great Ice Cream Place before we hit the last stretch of road. Back then there was NOTHING between Melbourne and Kissimee...unless you counted the 1 pump gas station in Holopaw. well...we stopped for our milkshake, went to the bathroom and hopped in the car...and......it wouldn't start. Now we figured they were going to find us on the side of the road at an Ice Cream Place! Once again...no sweat (Liz was used to this!haha) the front of the place had a slight slope to it...we figured we'd just wait for all traffic to clear the area....put it neutral, coast backwards and start the engine....and luckily it worked...so we were off with the milkshakes in hand! The rest of the trip was uneventful...for me anyway. After dropping me off, Liz had to drive down to Grant park her car and wait for a BOAT to take her over to her parent s house on Grant Island!
After college.....there were lots of trips out of town/state with John. One year we went up to Tennessee for his sister Sandy and Ken's wedding. That was a GREAT time!
We had snow flurries and everything...after being in Florida for so many years...as a former Pittsburgh er...snow flurries and bare trees were what Thanksgiving was all about! The wedding was in a little church in the valley of the Smokey Mountains...heated by a wood burning stove ( I think) afterwards we celebrated and spent the night in a cabin up in the mountains.....a good time was had by all!
There were lots of trips to Alabama to celebrate with John's family. We would head home with a car packed full of "gifts"
I'll say no more and more than once as we drove along in bumper to bumper traffic and/or torrential rain for hour after hour...I would VOW NEVER TO DO IT AGAIN...but of course we always did...and it was fun. I could go on and on...but I'm too old to fit all the memories into one post...hahaha so I will have to save some of the other stories for another time! Maybe before the weekend is over I will share the story of one memorable trip to TN....it deserves it's own post! hahaha
