Back in the 70's, I was dating a little honey from Augusta whose mother was a single mom. There was also a pile of older brothers who helped keep my libido under control. One Thanksgiving mom was brewing up a big turkey feast with all the fixins. And we were all around and eagerly awaiting the service of the goodies.
Come time to serve it all up, the whole meal was spread out on mom's big dining room table: a huge tinted, beveled glass top on a gaudy stained white frame. Seated something like eight semi-comfortably. Peas, mashed taters, rolls, sweet potato casserole, dressing.... everything. Along with her finest china settings and fancy gold-trimmed glass goblets filled with sweet tea or wine, depending on preference.
Football was going on with myself, the brothers, and some of the girls not engaged in bringing the dinner to the table. All we needed was a big steamy bird to complete a perfect Thanksgiving.
Then all was ready and we were called to the table, as the oldest brother brought out the cooked pteradactyl carcass. Probably 28 pounds of delicious dripping turkey on a large platter of juices. Giving off a fantastic aroma and making us all drool in anticipation.
And as he placed the platter on the corner of the table with some exaggerated brandish (yeah.... uh oh) the combined weight of platter, juice, and bird was too much for that glass top. And it cracked and collapsed inward toward the white rug underneath. Along with all the plates, side dishes, tea, red wine, et cetera!
After the initial girl screams and some cussing, there was a stunned silence while we each mentally figured out what our next move should be. Broken glass and plates were scattered in with all the food, so there was no salvage involved. Briefly discussed but just as briefly dismissed. Just cleanup required.
Mom was a tough old bird herself and did not react like you might expect. She simply jumped into action cleaning and collecting. And like any good Drill Instructor, assigned tasks to everyone participating. There were a couple of cowards in the crowd and they were identified quickly and shoved aside.
Maybe a half hour later, cleanup and trash removal completed and white rug rinsed and hung in the garage to dry, we turned to the bigger need: something to eat for Thanksgiving dinner. This was Augusta almost 50 years ago, and the Town Tavern was one of the premier eateries downtown. After calling around, we learned that they were open and serving Thanksgiving meals. So off we went, minus the craven couple that had not distinguished themselves during the post-catastrophe waste removal.
If you've seen 'A Christmas Story' and the Chinese dinner Ralphie and his family shared after the Bumpus bloodhounds had destroyed their Christmas turkey dinner, that was pretty much us that Thanksgiving Day. We did laugh about the disaster later, and there was shame everafter (maybe still) pushed on the one brother and his girlfriend for their non-performance as we extricated ourselves from the mess.
Still, other than many, many, MANY beatdowns of Georgia Tech a couple of days later, that Thanksgiving remains a special memory for me. Right up there with 'GATA'.
Come time to serve it all up, the whole meal was spread out on mom's big dining room table: a huge tinted, beveled glass top on a gaudy stained white frame. Seated something like eight semi-comfortably. Peas, mashed taters, rolls, sweet potato casserole, dressing.... everything. Along with her finest china settings and fancy gold-trimmed glass goblets filled with sweet tea or wine, depending on preference.
Football was going on with myself, the brothers, and some of the girls not engaged in bringing the dinner to the table. All we needed was a big steamy bird to complete a perfect Thanksgiving.
Then all was ready and we were called to the table, as the oldest brother brought out the cooked pteradactyl carcass. Probably 28 pounds of delicious dripping turkey on a large platter of juices. Giving off a fantastic aroma and making us all drool in anticipation.
And as he placed the platter on the corner of the table with some exaggerated brandish (yeah.... uh oh) the combined weight of platter, juice, and bird was too much for that glass top. And it cracked and collapsed inward toward the white rug underneath. Along with all the plates, side dishes, tea, red wine, et cetera!
After the initial girl screams and some cussing, there was a stunned silence while we each mentally figured out what our next move should be. Broken glass and plates were scattered in with all the food, so there was no salvage involved. Briefly discussed but just as briefly dismissed. Just cleanup required.
Mom was a tough old bird herself and did not react like you might expect. She simply jumped into action cleaning and collecting. And like any good Drill Instructor, assigned tasks to everyone participating. There were a couple of cowards in the crowd and they were identified quickly and shoved aside.
Maybe a half hour later, cleanup and trash removal completed and white rug rinsed and hung in the garage to dry, we turned to the bigger need: something to eat for Thanksgiving dinner. This was Augusta almost 50 years ago, and the Town Tavern was one of the premier eateries downtown. After calling around, we learned that they were open and serving Thanksgiving meals. So off we went, minus the craven couple that had not distinguished themselves during the post-catastrophe waste removal.
If you've seen 'A Christmas Story' and the Chinese dinner Ralphie and his family shared after the Bumpus bloodhounds had destroyed their Christmas turkey dinner, that was pretty much us that Thanksgiving Day. We did laugh about the disaster later, and there was shame everafter (maybe still) pushed on the one brother and his girlfriend for their non-performance as we extricated ourselves from the mess.
Still, other than many, many, MANY beatdowns of Georgia Tech a couple of days later, that Thanksgiving remains a special memory for me. Right up there with 'GATA'.
