On Thanksgiving Away from Home
A Letter from RLP to ALV:
Erin's parents live on a golf course about an hour from SF. It has a gate that is lifted when a guard in a guard house presses the button after taking your name and quizzing your motives. The new Smith family residence is by all measures beautiful and modest at the same time. "Much smaller" said Mr. Smith than the place where Erin and Abby and Chad grew up in Moraga after I commented on how much I liked it.
There was booze in my hand immediately, poured from an open, half drained bottle of Bogle. It was somewhere around 1pm. The Smith's.
Then it was a flurry of new faces as I met Mr. and Mrs. Smith the elders, the ones from Monterrey. Amiable sorts to be sure and like all good Grandmothers, she had soon pressed food in my free hand and told me to eat up so she could make room on the platter for more.
We watched football, the Grandfather and I, as everyone else was content to be talking or something. They did not have the same grasp on Thanksgiving as I and he. That is, back in NH the day is about Mass first, then Football. Sometimes live football watching my prep school get whalloped by the local public school. Never fair, those public school defensive lines. 25 year olds. You can tell by the growth of beard.
But in the absence of live pigskin, the tube is on and blaring as it was on that day. Mr Smith the elder was drinking Scotch and I was on glass number two and then I found myself talking with Erin's Dad about biotechnology and business cycles. Incredibly gentle fellow, Erin's Dad. Super bright to be sure, a geek like you and me and I was instantly comfortable.
Soon it was time for Turkey and the spread was mammoth. We ate a ton after a prayer was offered by Erin's Dad as we all held hands. In that moment it was crystal to me why Erin is how she is. Like all of us she gets caught up in moments but her grounding is so solid and earnest that she never loses touch or the ability to reach out and understand. She's very much like you in that way.
When dinner was done there were games to be played. Dice, in fact. I'd never played dice but I learned quickly and won the first round. Then, it was just me and her Dad and the Grandfather and he wanted to play "liars dice" and that was outstanding. Sort of like Bullshit. Fantastic. The game deteriorated quick as a whip when the word dessert was heard. More drinking. More Eating. More carrying on.
I stayed the night because if I had tried to drive I would have ended up in the Bay. Needless to say it was a good occasion and I was indeed very thankful for the place to be, so far from home.
Erin's parents live on a golf course about an hour from SF. It has a gate that is lifted when a guard in a guard house presses the button after taking your name and quizzing your motives. The new Smith family residence is by all measures beautiful and modest at the same time. "Much smaller" said Mr. Smith than the place where Erin and Abby and Chad grew up in Moraga after I commented on how much I liked it.
There was booze in my hand immediately, poured from an open, half drained bottle of Bogle. It was somewhere around 1pm. The Smith's.
Then it was a flurry of new faces as I met Mr. and Mrs. Smith the elders, the ones from Monterrey. Amiable sorts to be sure and like all good Grandmothers, she had soon pressed food in my free hand and told me to eat up so she could make room on the platter for more.
We watched football, the Grandfather and I, as everyone else was content to be talking or something. They did not have the same grasp on Thanksgiving as I and he. That is, back in NH the day is about Mass first, then Football. Sometimes live football watching my prep school get whalloped by the local public school. Never fair, those public school defensive lines. 25 year olds. You can tell by the growth of beard.
But in the absence of live pigskin, the tube is on and blaring as it was on that day. Mr Smith the elder was drinking Scotch and I was on glass number two and then I found myself talking with Erin's Dad about biotechnology and business cycles. Incredibly gentle fellow, Erin's Dad. Super bright to be sure, a geek like you and me and I was instantly comfortable.
Soon it was time for Turkey and the spread was mammoth. We ate a ton after a prayer was offered by Erin's Dad as we all held hands. In that moment it was crystal to me why Erin is how she is. Like all of us she gets caught up in moments but her grounding is so solid and earnest that she never loses touch or the ability to reach out and understand. She's very much like you in that way.
When dinner was done there were games to be played. Dice, in fact. I'd never played dice but I learned quickly and won the first round. Then, it was just me and her Dad and the Grandfather and he wanted to play "liars dice" and that was outstanding. Sort of like Bullshit. Fantastic. The game deteriorated quick as a whip when the word dessert was heard. More drinking. More Eating. More carrying on.
I stayed the night because if I had tried to drive I would have ended up in the Bay. Needless to say it was a good occasion and I was indeed very thankful for the place to be, so far from home.
posted by Jack X. Jones at 11/30/2006 09:27:00 AM
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