OPINION? Everybody Has One!!
Posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2008
I am writing this under duress. I was captured by a turkey on Thursday of last week and have yet to escape. The torture I have endured is unspeakable and I have been forced to lose parts of my life due to the spontaneous periods of sleep. These gaps of darkness and mental inabilities last from thirty minutes to two hours. My body is in rack and ruin, my ribs have expanded as with a medical spreader to accommodate my heart, liver and stomach. What a mess I am in and I thank the Lord for it and may you also have been captured ! That last Turkey Day was glorious, sunshine, golden leaves and laughing Grands spread out and running over. I am so cranky about the cold I know will be upon us soon and ice to chop, hay to haul and all the other chores so enhanced by frozen fingers and knees that need a squirt of oil. Saw on the news this morning that snow is falling north of us, creeping down across state lines. I hope you don’t ever let temptation win out in a personal battle. I know one close relative that had every intention of never losing, but did. We were all raised in southern comfort, yes, comfort. Her family and mine had all we could ever need and then enough to share with the neighbors at times, not always every day, but at times. Traditions die hard in this part of the world and our menu is set in stone for some of the big holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Presidents Day. No joke, it is written and we obey the time honored rituals to the letter ! What do you think appeared on our table along with all the good, loved and expected foodstuffs ? There is just something unholy about messing with the traditions of families who gave it all to settle this country and made a go of it ! But there it was, corn soufflé ! Not that any of us expected it, knew what it was or could even think of what to answer when she set it down and placed her hands on her hips, stood back and exclaimed, “ Well, there it is !” It is my opinion, and everyone has one, there are some words that are politically correct regardless of the situation and some words that are not ! Facial expressions are also extremely important and if a person can control his facial coloring, that is also good. Beet red or blanched white skin is undesirable when staring at an unidentified article of food. Words such as “ wow”, “ look at that”, “ ummmm”, phrases or well, you know what I mean, are appreciated and adequate. You get the picture ? New and improved or being introduced to new experiences are not in high regard around here, especially during the Thanksgiving meal. But I, for one, have learned to keep my face pleasant, my lips pursed together and to make that little humming sound of “ ummmmm”, therefore saving grace and the entire atmosphere of the big day ! So what if some have a slip and temptations overwhelm them to try a new and Yankee dish for the family, let it go ! It isn’t the end of the world; you can veto it in private. Don’t be stupid and spend the rest of the day or week in the doghouse. “ Get over, Dog, I know this computer takes up a lot of room, but I’m about done !”
—Bill
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