A Day of Thanks

                     A Day of Thanks


     Another Thanksgiving Day is about over - the dishes are washing, the leftovers are stored in containers ready to be consumed again and again. The house is quiet as the kids have gone back to their homes, the sky darkens as the sun settles low in the western sky.   Linda and I now have a new group of memories stored away, ready to be cherished on a moments notice.
     Thinking back this must be how it was all those years ago when I was a kid. The family gathering was always looked upon with an air of excitement, at least for us kids.  Getting everyone dressed in our finery, preparing the covered dishes for transport and then the long drive to Grandpa's house.  The first stop was Grandpa Riggan then later in the day to Grandpa Wade.
     The earlier years were great in that we kids looked forward with great anticipation to seeing cousins, aunts and uncles. We could run around screaming and yelling like little banshee's and all the threats of getting a whipping if we didn't calm down were ignored.
     At Grandpa Riggan's the food was cooked in iron skillets on a wood burning stove.  The biscuits were kneaded and rolled out by hand then placed in a windowless oven, a glance at the clock on the wall sufficed as a timer.  I can't remember that we had turkey every year, most likely it was a couple of chickens from Granny's flock, breaded and pan fried in lard. There were casseroles of all kinds, homemade stuffing and gravy followed by apple and pecan pie.   Even a picky eater like me found enough to eat that my belly would bulge to bursting.
     During the preparations the women folk converged on the kitchen area reminiscing old times and gossiping about the new. The men gathered on the front porch or in front of the fireplace if the weather was cold.  They talked of friends they had seen lately, the political climate as they saw it and occasionally swatted a kid on the butt for being to rowdy. Grandpa being hard of hearing would sit and puff on his corn cob pipe, every now and then he would join in the conversation but generally he was a man of few words.
     Later in the afternoon we loaded up and like the song says we went over the river and thru the woods to Grandpa Wade's house. By the time we got there dinner was over only leftovers sitting on the table, covered with napkins and dishcloths, remained. With our belly's still bulging we managed to find room for more, nobody went to Granny Wade's house and not eat.  Grandpa and Uncles Harold, AJ and Paul would be watching a ball game of some kind on TV or at least be talking about sports. Some time as the day wore on you could find Grandpa sitting in that big oak rocker of his with his eyes closed.  All of the commotion around him failed to wake him but change the channel from the ball game and he came alive.  The kitchen and dinning room was alive with the laughter of Granny and her daughters.
     Since Linda and I have been married most of our Thanksgiving Days have been spent with just us and the kids and sometimes friends.  Each providing it's own set of memories.  Today was not much different than others of the past.  Clay and Maggie were here as were Danny, Marie and MJ. Linda says it is strange to say Uncle Clay after all of these years of simply calling him Clay.  She may be on to something, but when I put MJ in his arms he reminds me of my brother Clint and how much alike they are.  In that respect Uncle fits him just fine.
     We spent the afternoon talking of all kinds of things, the past, the future, how's the job going, how quickly MJ is growing. We gathered at the table to eat and continue the conversation. MJ was in her highchair being fed bits of chicken by her Dad.  She quickly became the object of our attention as she would hand feed some of her food to Lizzy, the dog, though some of the food was only licked by Lizzy and quickly pulled away to be stuffed into MJ's mouth, MJ thought it was great fun. Once it was determined that MJ was not interested in chicken or mashed potatoes her Dad warmed a bottle of milk.
     Grandma does a great job of spoon-feeding MJ but I like to feed her the bottle.  That way I get to hold her.  After her bottle we had to show Dad MJ's new thing she learned.  I have taught her what is inside the cookie jar and when I lean in with her in my arms she reaches out and grabs a cookie.  Well today she got those tiny fingers around two chocolate chip cookies.  I sat down at the table with MJ on my leg and we all watched as she put the cookie into her mouth and was able to get her two teeth to break off a piece.  If I opened my mouth she would thrust her cookie filled hand towards my mouth but all I got was a finger covered in slobber and wet cookie crumbs.   Even so, it was delicious and MJ thought it was funny.
     After the cookie it was nap time and like any little one she sometimes puts up a little fuss but Grandpa has the distinction of being the only one to get her down for her nap.  I hold her against my shoulder and sway from side to side humming off key some melody of which the words escape me and it is not long till she goes limp and I lay her on the couch.  I'm not what you would call a religious person but if ever angels do come down to earth they must do so in the form of a sleeping baby.
     I am thankful for my brothers and sister, without them my memories would be less enjoyable.  I am thankful for my sons and their families for they have made me proud.  I am thankful for my life with Linda, without her life would have no meaning . This was MJ's first Thanksgiving and mine as a Grandpa  and I am thankful to have her in my life.  At eleven months old she probably won't remember a thing about this day but I will hold these memories into eternity.
    
     
    
    

To Hell In A Basket

                                          To Hell In A Basket






     I remember when I was a kid that the adults would claim this new generation was going to the dogs, or Hell in a basket, whichever comes first.  They were always talking about the way things were when they were growing up and this new generation had no idea how good a life they had.  They all had to walk four miles to school in the snow and the only thing to eat was vegetables and they were darned glad to get them.  I guess their longing for simpler times were no different than those of earlier generations or of the generations yet to come.
     It was hard for me to understand how Mom and Dad could have grown up in a time where there was no TV, Old Hickory Lake or color movies in the theaters. The major form of family entertainment was listening to serial broadcast programs on the radio.  Shows like The Shadow, Amos and Andy, Superman and Buck Rogers kept many people huddled around the radio for hours each week.  Opera was a staple form of music at this time.  Listening to Kate Smith belt out " When the Moon Comes Over The Mountain " was a family affair although to hear her sing her signature song " God Bless America " was truly amazing. When I was a child in the fifties we watched  The Adventures of Superman every afternoon and Buck Rogers on Saturday mornings on our black and white TV and, yes, we had to put up with the Kate Smith Hour before we could watch Superman. We understood the meaning of "waiting for the fat lady to sing".
     I can't attest to those who came before me but my generation had a good life growing up.  We were on the cutting edge of invention and innovation but as I look back I can understand the sentiment of the older generation.  I remember going to bed and not worrying about the doors being locked or letting the kids play outside and out of sight without fear of  abduction. There seemed to be less crime or maybe there was less crime per capita ( there were far fewer people then ) .
      I remember when five cents bought a candy bar that was twice the size of those on sale today and the store owner who sold the merchandise knew you by name because he was friends with your family or went to the same church or was even a relation. There was a time when there were Five and Dime Stores where most of the merchandise could be bought for five or ten cents,  As prices went up the Five and Dime Store was replaced by Variety Stores ( same merchandise just higher priced ) . Then as the prices climbed higher still the Variety Store was then replaced by larger stores with names like Woolworth's, Zayre's and K-Mart. The 1960's ushered in the era of the corporate giants and the Mom and Pop businesses couldn't compete with them.
     One way us kids could earn money was to collect soda / coke bottles and redeem them at the local grocery store for three cents apiece.  Even one soda bottle would buy three pieces of bubble gum.  Now all of the soda containers are made of disposable plastic that though it can be recycled usually winds up on the side of the road with other trash.  Don't get me wrong, we collected the soda bottles from the side of the road - not much has changed in that respect. The bottles put out by the Coca Cola bottling company were made in different cities around the country and the cities name would be embossed in the bottom of the bottle.  While we were collecting them we would sometimes play a game to see who had found the bottle made in a city farthest away from Nashville, Tn.  Dad and some of the guys he worked with would place bets on who could pull a bottle from the case that was farther way than the next guy.  Bets would range from twenty-five cents to a dollar depending on how close it was to payday.
     Deals were made on a handshake or a promise.  Your word was your bond and when you hired on with a company you most likely worked with them for life. There were no prenuptials to be signed before getting married and divorce was not only hard to get but most people seemed to want to work things out and stay married.
     Every house had an outside TV antenna attached to the roof in order to receive a signal for only three channels.  The channels did not start to broadcast until 6:00 am and went off the air at midnight. If you lost the picture you didn't call a technician you went outside and adjusted the antenna.  People with means installed electric motors to the antennas so that adjustments could be made remotely from inside the house. You were lucky to pickup a ballgame on Sunday afternoon and most all programs were live broadcast which made for some interesting moments.
     Morals were different then.  In the movies or on TV the adult bedroom was always shown with a married couple sleeping in separate beds. And it was the only place in the world where a woman was nine months pregnant but still had the waistline of a teenager.  Cursing was a no - no and sexual innuendoes took a far stretch of the imagination.  Movies and TV today are quite different.  There are some three hundred channels available and no subject matter (complete with visuals) is taboo.  It is commonplace to see men and women walking around in their underwear during commercial breaks. If the TV doesn't excite you there is always the internet, imagination is not required for either.  Don't worry about having to sit around waiting for the phone to ring - now days you carry the phone every where. You can talk, text, e-mail, post to Facebook, buy and sell,  all from the phone.  You can perform all of these task while walking, talking, driving, eating, drinking, watching a movie or soaking in a hot tub.  All of this technical multi tasking has even developed a new language  " BFF, BF, BC, B4, LOL " and more that I don't understand.  I call this new universal language "Abbreviated".
     I could go on and on about the differences.  The truth of the matter is that each generation has things better than the generation before them and for good reason.  All of the parents I know want their kids to grow up and have a better life than what they did.  In his own way my Dad wanted me to be better off than he had been - he didn't want me going in circles on life's merry-go-round.  Well,  I did manage to jump off before the ride was over but I failed to grab the brass ring because I had to do things my way.  Guess Mom was right, I do have a stubborn streak in me.
     Now the tide has turned and I am looking at my sons and wanting only the best for them and their loved ones but like the generations before me all I can do is watch and hope. The world in general is a topsy-turvy place with turmoil world wide.   Every country seems to have money problems and societies are having issues of trust in their political and religious leaders.
     Technology is running at a pace so fast that keeping up is a monumental task. Just the other night I was watching a program on the Science channel where a scientist is plotting the circuitry of the brain and another has developed a chip that can be wired into the brain and it will enhance the brains ability to perform thereby making mankind smarter.  It already is being tested on rats.  Just imagine a class room full of highly intelligent kids with a yearning for knowledge and a mind capable of absorbing all that comes their way.  No more mental illness or learning disabilities.
     Loose an arm?, well science is very close to attaching a prosthetic arm and hand that works via the thought process the original hand used, want to give someone the fickled finger of faith? all you have to do is think and the arm rises to the occasion with a finger appropriately extended.  Seriously, scientist are not only extending a person's life they are going to make him smarter and when the body does deteriorate they are also working on providing a new robotic body into which they can simply transplant your brain  or brain waves into a robotic body that appears real.
     Many years ago I saw an episode of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone where an old couple in the winter of their lives went to an outlet store and picked out new youthful bodies and thru a simple process they could become young again.  Sadly,  there was a cost associated with the quest for youth and the couple could not afford the transformation for both of them.  They decided to stay as they were and live out their time together as the people they had become. While it boggles my mind to believe that such a future may exist I feel that it must come to reality and mankind will explore stars looking for intelligent life and worlds such as our own.  We will need the intelligent people " to go boldly where no man has gone before ".
     I don't think this new generation is going to the dogs or Hell in a basket any more than previous generations did but the technical advances made and being made put them on a path of discovery and exploration the likes of which has only been imagined.  On the one hand I am excited for them, on the other hand the speed at which the future approaches is frightening and I am afraid that mankind will forget to "stop and smell the roses" .
      In reality, is my generation any better than that of my parents or, for that matter, will my sons and their children have a better life than me?  I think the answer is yes but if they do go to Hell in a basket it will be the most technically advanced baskets you have ever seen.