Thanksgiving dinner was held in the late afternoon so that my Uncle Rick and his sons could watch the Thanksgiving Day football game that was traditionally held between the Chicago Bear and the Detroit Lions. Uncle Rick loved football and loved to play and watch golf on television. My grandparents’, who really didn’t care about sports, always took into consideration Uncle Rick’s love of football. So we ate around 4 p.m. when the game was finished.
The dining room was set up with the good china and crystal and we were dressed up and on our best behavior. My mother and Aunt Emily always brought a dish or two to contribute to the meal. One year, my grandmother started serving “green salad,” a jello salad made with marshmallows, lime jello, pineapple, mandarine oranges, and sour cream, which Grandma told Uncle Fred was “salad cream” since he insisted that he did not like sour cream. “Green Salad” began a staple at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and Uncle Fred loved it!
When we and our grandparents grew older, my mother and Aunt Emily alternated having Thanksgiving and Christmas at each others’ houses. When I was about a sophomore in college, it was Aunt Emily’s turn to have Thanksgiving at her house. When we walked into the house, Aunt Emily was distraught and the entire kitchen sink was torn apart. Apparently, the water was not working in the kitchen; there was not water at all. Aunt Emily did not know what to do. There was nothing wrong with cooking the food, It was just that nothing could be washed in the kitchen when dinner was over.
My Grandma commonly told everyone not to worry. She had a plan. So we all have a nice dinner and enjoyed ourselves. When it came time to clean up, Grandma’s plan came into action. “We’ll wash the dishes in the bathtub,” she announced. What a great idea! Uncle Fred and I took turns washing the dishes and pots and pans in the tub in the bathroom, while my grandmother dried them while sitting on the toilet seat. Problem solved.
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