We are going to have a traditional family Thanksgiving.
Not the Norman Rockwell painting-type of Thanksgiving. You know, where everyone is dressed up in their finest around a linen-covered table adorned with the fine china. Not one of the Thanksgivings where the perfectly-prepared turkey is brought to the table and placed in front of the patriarch of the family who expertly carves the turkey and serves a perfect slice to each of his loved ones.
Les covers higher education including Southern Illinois University and the region’s community colleges as well as business news and religion. A three-degree graduate of SIU, he has written for The Southern since 2009, joining the newsroom staff in 2021. Contact him at les.odell@thesouthern.com or 618-351-5036.
Nope. We’re going to have one of our traditional Thanksgivings. And, according to my children, we do not mess with tradition. Oh, excuse me. That wasn’t strong enough. According to my children, WE DO NOT MESS WITH TRADITION.
Trust me, we have tried. There was the year when we had just moved into a new home. I think we finished carrying boxes and furniture the day before Thanksgiving. In an effort to simplify things, instead of the expected turkey, I prepared sirloins on the grill. I thought my kids were going to cook my goose. Our menu has been the same ever since.
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Well, expect for the year I decided to jump on the deep fried turkey bandwagon. Since I was a rookie and wasn’t really confident in the process and my abilities, I spent perhaps too much time outside “watching the fryer.” I think my wife thought I was just hiding. I’m thankful I married her. She is smart.
Our tradition is for an informal observation of the holiday. The most complicated part of Thanksgiving (at least from my perspective) is deciding which minor league hockey jersey I will wear. It’s tradition.
As is the boys watching the annual parade on television they are excited by all of the balloon characters they recognized; I get confused by all of the “celebrities” I don’t recognize as they lip sync poorly.
My wife and daughter will work their magic in the kitchen, fabulous smells pointing usually to a 1 p.m. feast. At the appointed time, I’m invited in to carve the turkey, but there is none of that picture-perfect, at-the-dinner-table carving for me. Instead, it is time for power tools. I rev up the electric knife someone gave us as a wedding present 31 years ago (whomever you are, I thank you!) and I make quick work of my task. The speed is important because by this time, there are lots of hungry people gathering.
Besides our family, we’ve traditionally invited others to join us and usually have a ground: those from other nations and other friends who have made their own tradition – joining us each year for Thanksgiving.
We’ll all eat way too much, and turn on the football game, which no one will really watch. Once the eating and the cleaning is all done, we’ll fight for the inserts and ads in the newspaper. Each of us will show others the Black Friday bargains even if we have absolutely no plans to go shopping. Naps follow – a perfect Thanksgiving afternoon.
Odds are someone will warm up a plate of leftovers not long after sunset and I’ll pop open the bottle of horseradish sauce my wife buys each year for my turkey sandwiches. I’ll use it on sandwiches for the next week or so and then the mostly-full bottle will sit in the refrigerator until Labor Day.
I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s tradition…more or less.
'Sesame Street' was created by former public television documentary filmmaker, Joan Ganz Cooney. Cooney sought to provide programming for preschoolers that would both entertain and educate. Puppeteer Jim Henson created some of television's most recognizable characters for the show, including Big Bird, Grover, Oscar the Grouch and Bert and Ernie. The show's diverse human characters and positive social messages were somewhat groundbreaking for the time.
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Les O'Dell is a reporter and columnist for The Southern Illinoisan. He can be reached at les.odell@thesouthern.com or (618) 351-5036.
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Opinion | More or Les: A traditional thanksgiving - The Southern
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