A Thanksgiving Dinner Emergency Plan

 

By G. E. Shuman

          I was just at our local supermarket, or one of them… okay, the one my family most often frequents. I’ll tell you; the place was mobbed. Well, it wasn’t actually mobbed, and this year I can feel especially good about that. It WAS packed with people shopping. And I mean packed.

          Most of the time I was in the store I felt like stopping one of the many shoppers with an overflowing shopping cart and asking her, (Most of them seemed to be ‘hers’.) if she was shopping for Thanksgiving dinner or because of the next COVID-19 apocalypse. Eventually I stopped wondering about that and learned that I could somewhat figure it out if I was just a bit nosey and peeked into her cart as I passed by in the aisle. (After, of course, checking that I was heading in the correct direction.) If I could see a big fat family-sized frozen turkey in the cart, I had my answer. If I could see several big fat family-sized packs of toilet paper in there, again I had my answer. If I could see both the turkey and the TP, I knew this was a very astute and prepared shopper. (I should have been a private detective.)

          For most U.S. families, this Thanksgiving Day will probably resemble a ‘normal’ Thanksgiving in some ways, but maybe not in other ways. If your family is like most others this year, you may have fewer relatives visiting your home, or you may not be visiting theirs. The COVID-19 rules seem to be changing almost daily and do vary by state.

          If you plan on visiting family out of state, you just might want to have a Thanksgiving backup plan in case those original plans fall apart. In years past some families sort of loosely figured out such a plan, (ours included) if bad weather was predicted, and those plans came in handy more than once. To me, having such a plan in place could be a holiday-saver this year. (No one wants a PBJ sandwich on Thanksgiving.)

          Your Thanksgiving dinner rescue plan could be as simple as this: Get a small frozen turkey, which will cost you about five bucks if bought before Thanksgiving. (If you don’t eat it now, they’re great anytime in the winter, or on your gas grill next summer. Yum!) Buy some canned veggies, (which you should probably be stockpiling right now anyway,) Stovetop Stuffing, (not to be a brand dropper,) some turkey gravy, and a bag of potatoes. Ta Da! Instant Thanksgiving dinner, just in case you must stay at home yourself or have fewer family members visiting this year.

          We Americans have always been great innovators. As of this writing, my own family is unsure if our dinner plans for Thanksgiving will actually materialize. We’re all praying that they will, but God only knows, and I do not mean that sarcastically. Truly, only He really does know, and only He can be our guide through these tough times. Still, it doesn’t hurt to do a little extra planning, (At this moment there are two smallish turkeys taking a long cold nap in our freezer.)

          In some ways this year is not different from others. Thanksgiving Day is still a day in which we are reminded to be thankful for all that we have. Regardless of anything and everything else this year may change for us; it cannot stop us from being thankful. Have a wonderful and thankful Thanksgiving!

Our New Little Friend

 

By G. E. Shuman

 

          In a year when things, seemingly, couldn’t get much more different from other years, they recently did, at least at our house. This new ‘difference’ isn’t a big one, in fact, it’s quite a little one, literally.

          You see, a small creature that my wife named Angel has recently taken up residence in our front hallway. No, we have not domesticated a wild mouse or squirrel, nor have we started a home for wayward hamsters and gerbils. 

          What we HAVE done is this, in this very strange year.  We bought a parakeet. Yes, we did. And I’m about to tell you about how that happened. Yes, I am.

          Several months ago, one of our wonderful grandkids, Ayvah, gave us a beautiful birdcage. She had once owned birds, no longer had them and thought that we might like to have the cage. Normally I don’t like to collect things just because we might want to use them, someday, so I knew that if we took ownership of the cage, a bird to live in it would have to follow. There is little use for an empty birdcage, although I have seen people put plants in them and have always wondered why, as most plants can’t fly away, even without a cage. Also, you can only convince the most gullible among us that you have an invisible bird. I know this because I have tried.

          So, Nahla, who is another of our wonderful grandkids, and her grandmother and I went pet-shop shopping one day and came home with what we believe is one of the most beautiful little birds we have ever seen. Lorna named him Angel because he has white wings. Our family, I assume, is assuming that angels have white wings. We are at least taking Lorna’s word for that.

          Having Angel live in his cage on a shelf in our front hallway has worked out quite nicely. The little guy actually fits very well into our family and lifestyle and is quite entertaining. He will sit on your finger if that’s something you feel strongly about. He will also let you watch him play with the several bird toys that hang throughout his cage. This he can do for hours.

          Angel is also about the most low-maintenance pet that you, (or I) could have. There are no morning and evening walks around the neighborhood and no big bags of food, litter pans, leashes, or other things to own if you own a parakeet. Nope. Just give him fresh water and food each day and he will gleefully sing, swing, and survive quite well in his home within your home. He will still sit on your finger if you still feel strongly about that.

          One more thing to mention is that, if you own a parakeet, there should be no large vet bills. Not to seem cruel, but I once heard that taking a small animal to the vet is like taking your disposable lighter in for repairs. (Please don’t tell Angel that I said that.)

          So, that pretty much sums up the news of the new resident in our front hallway.

          It really has been a very strange year. The fact that I just wrote a column about a little bird named Angel, and that you just READ a column about a little bird named Angel, seems to prove that out. The strange year isn’t over, and Heaven only knows what may come next. (Angel-heaven… see how I worked that in there?)