Period 9/10 Blog #10

Your comment post should be at least 320 words this week due Thursday by 11:59 pm and you will be responsible for responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm.

What Has Been Your Most Memorable Thanksgiving?

Student Opinion

By NATALIE PROULX NOV. 17, 2017

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CreditAndrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? How do you celebrate and with whom? Do you like this holiday?

In “A Thanksgiving Snapshot: Readers Share Their Holiday Stories,” Julia Simon writes:

So many of us come together to celebrate Thanksgiving, but the holiday means something different to everyone. We asked for a snapshot of your Thanksgiving — a story or a tradition or a dish that helps define your holiday, and hundreds of you responded. You shared funny stories, about the turkeys that were too big for your ovens. You shared tragic memories, about experiencing unbelievable heartache on a day that is supposed to bring people together. And you shared tales about overcoming hardship to create a memorable meal. Here are your stories; together, they help tell the story of the holiday itself.

These responses have been edited for length and clarity.

‘My mother couldn’t stand the idea of anyone eating pizza for Thanksgiving’

About 45 years ago, my mother made a last-minute run to the grocery store. There was a pizza parlor next to the store, and she watched as three Marines entered. My mother couldn’t stand the idea of anyone eating pizza for Thanksgiving dinner, so she dragged them home. She cooked enough for a small army every night anyway, so three more hearty appetites wouldn’t make a dent. These three young men spent the day with our family, played board games, watched football and shared our Thanksgiving dinner. They even helped with the dishes. I think they were the most polite people my parents ever had over. — Sandy Stinson, Santa Barbara, Calif.

‘The shelter didn’t have an oven’

I was homeless and living on New York City streets, in foster homes and homeless shelters. One Thanksgiving, I received a donated turkey — a thoughtful, generous gift, for which I was grateful. My shelter, however, didn’t have an oven where I could roast my dinner. Ultimately, I cut meat off the turkey bones, boiling it in a small pot on a hot plate — my only cooking appliance. The generosity of the donated turkey was tempered by the indignity I felt as a hungry person, scrambling to find any possible way to prepare my Thanksgiving meal. — Debra Vizzi, Hillside, N.J.

‘A possum. In the pie.’

When I arrived at my parents’ home a few hours before dinner, the pie I baked was still very warm. The refrigerator was already packed and bursting with food. It was a particularly chilly Thanksgiving that year, cold enough that I thought I’d just set the pie out on the back porch to chill until dessert time. The curtains had been drawn all evening, and when I parted them to open the sliding door and retrieve the pie I saw — to my horror — a small possum with its face buried in my perfectly cooked, beautifully seasoned pumpkin pie. I SCREAMED. It froze. My brother came rushing over (probably suspecting I’d actually dropped the pie) and witnessed the same scene. A possum. In the pie. — Sonja Groset, Lake Forest Park, Wash.

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:

— Which of the stories was your favorite and why?

— Why do you celebrate Thanksgiving? What does the holiday mean to you?

— Give us a “snapshot” of your Thanksgiving. What has been your most memorable Thanksgiving and why?