26 November 2009
Thanksgiving Day
Little can dissuade me from the notion of watching the annual televised presentation of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, It is a personal ritual that goes back so far I can easily close my eyes and see the black and white houndstooth sofa, wall of mirrors, and shelves of World Book Encyclopedias that were all a part of the “den” or family room of my New York youth. In those days, the excitement of the parade on the TV was matched by the sensory overload in the kitchen—turkey in the oven, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole (of course!) and usually pumpkin pie. After the parade ended, with Santa safely chaperoned down 34th Street, we kids changed out of our pajamas and into something fancy enough for dinner with company coming. We never really knew who it would be much ahead of time, but almost always there were enough folks to fill the table and require a card table for the kids. After dinner, football. More pie. Cold turker for supper. Good times for which I am so grateful.
Now, with the vocation I’ve chosen, Thanksgiving is a day of sewing and packing and travelling. In recent years, the Texas Renaissance Festival schedule changed, and instead of ending at least a week before Thanksgiving weekend, we are now open on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday immediately following the holiday. Black Friday greed has indeed infected the renfaire world.
But, I still make time to watch that sacred parade all the way to its festive, reindeer-drawn, red and white-suited, jingle-belled and bearded, jolly old end.
~MB
