The Ghost of Thanksgiving Past

[kmorgan]

Okay, first, an explanation.

Back in the day, on the old Deep Blurting board, we had a separate site called "Deep Blurting New Stuff", where we would post articles, reviews, or whatever. (I think it might still be accessible via the Internet Archive.) And, one year, we were asked to contribute an article for Thanksgiving. So, I put together the article you see below. And, like the Wall Street Journal with their annual Thanksgiving editorial, I reposted it every year across the original board and the Even Deeper Blurting successor. Well, now that I'm here, here it is for those who haven't seen it. Hope you like it.

*****

The following is a reprint of an article first posted in 1999, with a brief addendum:

This week, I was asked to write an article about a good and memorable Thanksgiving Day in my past. Personally, I had no problem with this; I’m sure you won’t get upset at having to wait for my review of “Angry Red Planet”. But, I’m going to have to alter the premise a bit. You see, every Thanksgiving Day is a good and memorable one for me. That’s because, for a while, I had a run of really rotten Turkey Days. I’ll explain:

In mid-November of 1991, I went into the hospital for abdominal surgery. To be specific, doctors performed an illeostomy; to be general, they rearranged my internal plumbing. Due to complications, I was hospitalized for a solid month. So, that year, I spent Thanksgiving in bed, doped up on a variety of medications and connected to various bits of medical technology via various tubes. I recall seeing some of the Macy’s Parade, and some of my family visited. But, on the whole, it was a miserable day. Plus, no MST3K! (On a side note, that provided an odd experience, later. My stitches pulled and hurt whenever I laughed. When I got back home, I watched the “Posture Pals” short and suffered what could only be called “hilarious agony”.)

Flash forward about a year. In mid-October of 1992, my parents retired and moved up to our ancestral home in Pennsylvania. I was sharing our old house with my brother Pat, my other brothers having found other digs. Just before Thanksgiving, my Dad’s father passed away following an illness. That year, I spent the day before Thanksgiving serving as a pallbearer. The following day, with my family scattered and Pat with his friends, I had dinner alone. Plus, I had to fill in for the holiday at my radio job. Actually, that wasn’t too bad; it got my mind off things.

Over the next couple of years, it was pretty much the same thing. My brothers Bruce and Don, both married, spent Thanksgiving with their respective families. Mom and Dad were up in Pennsylvania with my Mom’s parents, who by that time were in, respectively, a senior care home (Grandpa) and a nursing home (Grandma). My brother Brian (a frequent contributor to “Caption This!”) had moved in with me and Pat. But, they both had other plans for Thanksgiving. So, there I was, alone with my dinner and watching the clock to get to work. I did watch some MST3K (one time it was the extremely funny “The Violent Years”), but it didn’t really help.

By 1995, I’d had just about enough. I went to my parents and asked (correction, begged) them to come back to Jersey for Thanksgiving. They agreed, thank heavens. That year, and each year since, we’ve had a real Thanksgiving dinner. Pat and Bri are there, as are my brother Don’s family. My brother Bruce’s family usually has dinner with his in-laws, but they make it here in time for dessert. And I’m happy. I don’t even mind when I’ve got a TV or radio slot to do; I know that at least part of the day went fine.

So, you see, every Thanksgiving Day is a good one for me. Having seen low I could get on Turkey Day, practically anything would be an improvement. But, still, things have worked out fine. Since I come from a large family, I just can’t spend a happy Thanksgiving Day alone. Now, I know I won’t have to.

Besides, my Mom is an infinitely better cook than I am.
*****
ADDENDUM: Well, this year my Mom has once again driven down from PA to handle the cooking.  And it'll be Mom, my brothers Pat, Bri and Don; my nephew Donnie, and I for dinner.  My brother Bruce's family is together for their dinner, and my niece Nicole and her kids are, sadly, unable to get here this year.  It ain't perfect, but its better than a hospital bed.

And, with RT going strong and the MST3K revival building steam, things are looking up.  But, you know,even if they weren't, it's nice to get the family together for something other than a memorial service.

And I wish you all a Happy & Safe Thanksgiving.

[Afgncaap5]

Happy Thanksgiving to you too, kmorgan. Thanks!

[kmorgan]

As noted previously, here's my annual reprint of my Thanksgiving article, originally posted on DBNS, back in 1999, with a brief addendum:

This week, I was asked to write an article about a good and memorable Thanksgiving Day in my past. Personally, I had no problem with this; I’m sure you won’t get upset at having to wait for my review of “Angry Red Planet”. But, I’m going to have to alter the premise a bit. You see, every Thanksgiving Day is a good and memorable one for me. That’s because, for a while, I had a run of really rotten Turkey Days. I’ll explain:

In mid-November of 1991, I was told that I went into the hospital for abdominal surgery. To be specific, doctors performed an illeostomy; to be general, they rearranged my internal plumbing. Due to complications, I was hospitalized for a solid month. So, that year, I spent Thanksgiving in bed, doped up on a variety of medications and connected to various bits of medical technology via various tubes. I recall seeing some of the Macy’s Parade, and some of my family visited. But, on the whole, it was a miserable day. Plus, no MST3K! (On a side note, that provided an odd experience, later. My stitches pulled and hurt whenever I laughed. When I got back home, I watched the “Posture Pals” short and suffered what could only be called “hilarious agony”.)

Flash forward about a year. In mid-October of 1992, my parents retired and moved up to our ancestral home in Pennsylvania. I was sharing our old house with my brother Pat, my other brothers having found other digs. Just before Thanksgiving, my Dad’s father passed away following an illness. That year, I spent the day before Thanksgiving serving as a pallbearer. The following day, with my family scattered and Pat with his friends, I had dinner alone. Plus, I had to fill in for the holiday at my radio job. Actually, that wasn’t too bad; it got my mind off things.

Over the next couple of years, it was pretty much the same thing. My brothers Bruce and Don, both married, spent Thanksgiving with their respective families. Mom and Dad were up in Pennsylvania with my Mom’s parents, who by that time were in, respectively, a senior care home (Grandpa) and a nursing home (Grandma). My brother Brian (a frequent contributor to “Caption This!”) had moved in with me and Pat. But, they both had other plans for Thanksgiving. So, there I was, alone with my dinner and watching the clock to get to work. I did watch some MST3K (one time it was the extremely funny “The Violent Years”), but it didn’t really help.

By 1995, I’d had just about enough. I went to my parents and asked (correction, begged) them to come back to Jersey for Thanksgiving. They agreed, thank heavens. That year, and each year since, we’ve had a real Thanksgiving dinner. Pat and Bri are there, as are my brother Don’s family. My brother Bruce’s family usually has dinner with his in-laws, but they make it here in time for dessert. And I’m happy. I don’t even mind when I’ve got a TV or radio slot to do; I know that at least part of the day went fine.

So, you see, every Thanksgiving Day is a good one for me. Having seen low I could get on Turkey Day, practically anything would be an improvement. But, still, things have worked out fine. Since I come from a large family, I just can’t spend a happy Thanksgiving Day alone. Now, I know I won’t have to.

Besides, my Mom is an infinitely better cook than I am.

ADDENDUM: Well, things have taken a turn for the worse, lately.

As I previously posted, my brother Brian passed away suddenly last month. It was unexpected, and it hit us all very hard. My family has suffered losses during or near the Holiday season before, and it hasn’t gotten better; we’ve just gotten used to it.

Still, it won’t be too sad. My brother Bruce has invited me, my brother Pat, and my Mom over to his place for dinner with his family. My Mom is glad about that, since dinner with just the three of us, with an empty chair at the table, would’ve been tough. And my brother Don might be able to stop by later, I hope. Believe me; all this really helps.

So, I’ll just say that, in spite of recent troubles, I still have many blessings to be thankful for. And I hope you do, as well.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, folks.

[kmorgan]

I'm bumping this up, since I would always re-post this article for Thanksgiving on the old Deep Blurting board. However, I'm only actually typing the addendum for 2017.

This year's celebration went pretty well. It's been more than a year since we lost my brother Bri, but we're dealing with it as well as can be expected. With the exception of my nephew Duane's family and my niece Nicole, we were all at my brother Bruce's house for dinner. We had 17 people there, which is quite a good turnout. It was nice to see so many of my family together, since our schedules rarely mesh.
Afterwards, I drove home and, tired as I was, forgot to post this on actual Thanksgiving Day. Still, I did watch at least some of the Turkey Day marathon via YouTube. And when they were running the last commercials after the last ep, I foolishly switched it off. So, it wasn't until the next morning that I saw the last-minute announcement of Season 12. (Yes, Season 12. Not Season 2, as some media types have reported.)
So, while it's been a difficult year in many ways, I still have much to be thankful for. My family, my friends, my sort-of good health, the freedoms I enjoy, the country I live in, the blessings I've been granted by the Lord, and a show I enjoy continuing.
Now, I just have to hope TLJ turns out well.

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving, and hope you will have a happy & safe Holiday season.