An Untradtional Thanksgiving
It’s Thanksgiving again – a time to go have a Thanksgiving feast that just can’t be beat, and then illegally dump your garbage behind Alice’s Restaurant. Or something like that.
The images of Thanksgiving are always the same – large families gathered around the table, dear old Dad bringing the turkey out, everyone oohing and aahing the perfectly garnished bird. Everyone joins hands and prays to their own God, thanking Him for the bounty they’re about to receive. Then crazy Uncle Fred belches really loud, unbuckles his belt, and hollers, “let’s eat!”
Yeah, whatever.
My family lives 1,800 miles away, and the Lovely Mrs. G’s folks are 1,500 miles away, so it’ll be the typical Gressel family Thanksgiving – just the 3 of us. And to be perfectly honest, I like it that way. No running from here to there, trying to be on time, no pressure to present the perfect sides and a golden 25-pound Butterball to your picky family. It’ll just be us – a little turkey, a little napping, and maybe a movie. I can do it all in my sweatpants if I so choose – no matching winter-scene sweaters for us.
But that doesn’t mean that Thanksgiving has to be dull – no, not at all. In fact, my favorite Thanksgiving of all time took place just 3 years ago – when it was just me, the Lovely Mrs. G., and Miss Katie...and 10 million of our closest friends.
You see, for Thanksgiving 2002 we went to New York City to attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And let me tell ya, it was a blast.
Oh, sure – it was cold outside, and there really wasn’t much room to stand, but it was 100 percent worth every moment of it, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
I’d won the trip in an essay contest, and we got to spend 5 days all together in the Big Apple, standing in line to go up into the Empire State Building, standing in line to take the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty, standing in line to shop the 5th Avenue stores the weekend after Thanksgiving (bringing on a whole new meaning to the term “Black Friday”), and having a rather nice ride around Central Park, thanks to a horse-drawn carriage.
As far as Thanksgiving goes, we ponied up about $40 each and had Thanksgiving dinner at the Doubletree in Times Square. It was really good – I’m not sure if it was “$40 good”, but it suited the needs. And it was a great way to spend a holiday with your family. Of course, we followed this up with a Broadway show (‘Chicago’) that night, so how can that be beat?
We really loved New York. It was our second trip there, and we’d all love to go back.
But my favorite image from Times Square has to be one of these two. Either it’s the hobo with the cardboard sign:
His sign reads, "Need money for beer, drugs, and hooker. Hey, at least I ain't bullshittin' you." I was tempted to give him a buck for honestly alone.
Or – there’s this guy, walking around in front of the MTV studios, in his underpants. Miss Katie had to tip $2 to pose with her for a photo. (Hey, it was worth it.) He was The Naked Cowboy, and by golly, he sure was.
Doesn't that beat an old boring pumpkin pie?
So this Thanksgiving, here’s my advice. Try something different. Turn off the football game, quit arguing with your cousins, and go out and do something new.
I mean, there’s always a parade to enjoy, if nothing else.
The images of Thanksgiving are always the same – large families gathered around the table, dear old Dad bringing the turkey out, everyone oohing and aahing the perfectly garnished bird. Everyone joins hands and prays to their own God, thanking Him for the bounty they’re about to receive. Then crazy Uncle Fred belches really loud, unbuckles his belt, and hollers, “let’s eat!”
Yeah, whatever.
My family lives 1,800 miles away, and the Lovely Mrs. G’s folks are 1,500 miles away, so it’ll be the typical Gressel family Thanksgiving – just the 3 of us. And to be perfectly honest, I like it that way. No running from here to there, trying to be on time, no pressure to present the perfect sides and a golden 25-pound Butterball to your picky family. It’ll just be us – a little turkey, a little napping, and maybe a movie. I can do it all in my sweatpants if I so choose – no matching winter-scene sweaters for us.
But that doesn’t mean that Thanksgiving has to be dull – no, not at all. In fact, my favorite Thanksgiving of all time took place just 3 years ago – when it was just me, the Lovely Mrs. G., and Miss Katie...and 10 million of our closest friends.
You see, for Thanksgiving 2002 we went to New York City to attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And let me tell ya, it was a blast.
Oh, sure – it was cold outside, and there really wasn’t much room to stand, but it was 100 percent worth every moment of it, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
I’d won the trip in an essay contest, and we got to spend 5 days all together in the Big Apple, standing in line to go up into the Empire State Building, standing in line to take the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty, standing in line to shop the 5th Avenue stores the weekend after Thanksgiving (bringing on a whole new meaning to the term “Black Friday”), and having a rather nice ride around Central Park, thanks to a horse-drawn carriage.
As far as Thanksgiving goes, we ponied up about $40 each and had Thanksgiving dinner at the Doubletree in Times Square. It was really good – I’m not sure if it was “$40 good”, but it suited the needs. And it was a great way to spend a holiday with your family. Of course, we followed this up with a Broadway show (‘Chicago’) that night, so how can that be beat?
We really loved New York. It was our second trip there, and we’d all love to go back.
But my favorite image from Times Square has to be one of these two. Either it’s the hobo with the cardboard sign:
His sign reads, "Need money for beer, drugs, and hooker. Hey, at least I ain't bullshittin' you." I was tempted to give him a buck for honestly alone.
Or – there’s this guy, walking around in front of the MTV studios, in his underpants. Miss Katie had to tip $2 to pose with her for a photo. (Hey, it was worth it.) He was The Naked Cowboy, and by golly, he sure was.
Doesn't that beat an old boring pumpkin pie?
So this Thanksgiving, here’s my advice. Try something different. Turn off the football game, quit arguing with your cousins, and go out and do something new.
I mean, there’s always a parade to enjoy, if nothing else.
posted by Tommy G at
9:51 AM
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