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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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BREAKING TRADITION
Being single, I always receive invitations from married friends to join them and their families for holiday meals. Sometimes I am in a mood to celebrate with them. On other occasions I prefer to have time alone for reflection and catching up on projects that don't always fit into my normally busy life. This year, I decided to accept an interesting invitation for a non-traditional Thanksgiving steak dinner. When Thursday arrived, I had the whole morning to attend to my solitary meditation and reflection needs as well as time for a long soak in the tub. Before going to my hosts' home, I took a short walk and met some other friends. They asked if I had dinner plans, and told me they were going to grill baby back ribs. Hmmm, I thought, another non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner. That night -- after a delicious steak dinner, an interesting movie, and hours of conversation with my hosts -- I returned home feeling thankful for friendships, my island home, and the freedom and means to enjoy holidays and non-traditional meals. Turning on the computer, I found several e-mails from friends around the country. One, from a couple in Kentucky, stated they were having ham and scalloped potatoes for Thanksgiving. Another from Seattle talked about their tasty salmon feed. A third from North Carolina spoke about Grandma's "traditional" sauerkraut and sausages. Could this have been the most non-traditional Thanksgiving in the history of our country? On Friday morning I woke up without the usual morning after symptoms of overeating. For a brief moment after breakfast, though, I wondered what I would eat the rest of the day without leftover turkey and a carcass to boil. However a quick survey of the refrigerator and the pantry turned up all the ingredients for a homemade pizza and a box of organic butternut squash soup. Then, with my temporary fears about having broken tradition alleviated, I went for a pleasant stroll around the neighborhood and enjoyed another morning of glorious weather.
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SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
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