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_________________________________________________________ {Straight From the Heart} *Those Enticing Thanksgiving Aromas* 11/22/00 _________________________________________________________ If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends, that we may bring inspiration into the lives of many! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, join us by sending a blank email to: Thunder27@aol.com I appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism, so feel free to write me (Michael T. Powers) and let me know what you think! Just joined us and want to see all the past stories we have run? Visit our inspirational website at: Straight From the Heart http://www.storiesfrommyheart.com ___________________________________________________ We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Next email will be on Friday with another wonderful story by Bob Perks! Don't miss Joan Wester Anderson on 20/20 on ABC at 10 pm EST this Friday also! Michael, Kristi, Caleb, and Connor ___________________________________________________ Those Enticing Thanksgiving Day Aromas By Dee Ann E. L. Horvath My father proclaimed that Thanksgiving 1964 was going to be a real Thanksgiving. One that would go down in history and it sure did all right. It seems like it was just yesterday when my dad came home a few weeks before turkey day and announced that we would not be having turkey. He had ordered something extraordinary for this year's special day of thanks, a goose. My sister, Lori and I, at the ripe old age of 8 and 9, had never eaten goose before so we turned our noses up to the thought of such delicacy. We knew the real reason we were being subjected to this torture. It was because my father hated turkey. He began telling us how this startling turn of events all came about. He had been at the local gin mill rubbing elbows with the area farmers and got this brainstorm when he heard one of the farmers had geese for sale, corn feed and fat just wanting for my father's holiday dinner table. All Lori and I could envision was Mother Goose in the oven. My mother on the other hand, being the family diplomat guaranteed us we would be having a feast fit for the pilgrims. But I could see that she wasn't too happy about it when my dad brought the twenty-seven pound, barely plucked gander home for her to finish dressing. Early Thanksgiving morn she started making my father's fantasy come true. Mom was a wonderful cook but there were only so many miracles one woman can perform on a goose that can barely fit into the oven. I on the other hand I was obsessing over a loose tooth that was about to fall out. It hurt to eat so my dad offered to pull it out. Lori said she would be more than happy to oblige me but I just couldn't bring myself to let them play dentist on me. My mother silently struggled turning the monster goose in the oven every half hour or so to try and cook it thoroughly. To stop me from complaining about my front tooth she tied a string to it and fastened the string onto the knob of the kitchen door. She assured me it would be over before I knew what happened and that when I least expected it one of my loved ones would walk by and shut the door plucking out my tooth. I stood there for what seemed an eternity while Lori teased me. Every time she came near the door or me I wailed. My dad engrossed in the Bears vs. the Green Bay Packers football game seemed to be able to tune out all the commotion. Our dogs, Heinzie and Twicey needed to go out and I needed a break from operation tooth fairy so, I volunteered to take our father and son dachshunds out for a walk before the big banquet. The canines saw a couple of muskrats down by the creek and took off on their own adventure while I, afraid that the dogs would get hurt, came running into the house screaming. My dad was shouting at the football game. Lori came in the living room pinching her nose asking what stinks? My mother flew out of the kitchen screeching that the goose stunk like 5-day-old fish. The place was a mad house. Through the years Mom, Dad, Lori and I would recall that Thanksgiving and we would laugh till we cried. Each one of us seemed to have a slightly different spin on the story but all and all it was still a total disaster. Together we all went through it and together we all survived, forging us closer together as a family. Our so-called dysfunctional family moment gave us the strength and a sense of humor that I think we all need in life. Life doesn't always follow along with our plans. "Roll with the punches," or "someday you will look back and laugh," both ring true for that is part of family life. Oh, I forgot to mention that the goose had been fed cod liver oil to fatten him up and the farmer had butchered to soon. My tooth fell out sometime during my sleep and we all figured I must have swallowed it. The dogs finally showed up at the back door late that night with something special to add. A skunk had sprayed them both. Father was right. Thanksgiving 1964 did go down in history, our family history, and is now being passed down to the next generation. Periodically those pungent aromas embedded in our noses on that calamitous holiday entice Lori and I to go back and share with our children how our family celebrated Thanksgiving Day. Dee Ann E. L. Horvath Ambereye3@aol.com Send Dee Ann an email and let her know what you thought of her story! ********** Born in Chicago Illinois in 1955. Raised partially in Wisconsin and then returned to the Chicago suburbs in 1965 where I have remained ever since. Married to my high school sweet heart for over 25 years and we have three wonderful daughters together. I enjoy life and meeting people. To me every person is a novel waiting to be read. Some are better reading than others are but there is always something to be learned. I have always been a creative and artistic individual. Recently I have found writing poetry and short stories to be my passion. I find it is a wonderful fulfilling way to express myself and relieve stress. Best of all it leaves a lasting impression. I have been published on line and in hard copy. I enjoy sharing my works with friends, family and acquaintances, many of which have inspired my writings and have given me the encouragement to realize my potential. I only hope you enjoy my writings half as much as I enjoyed writing them. Themestream Author Info SpeckledWords Home Poetry.com Poet Search Story Submissions Story Submissions/Past Authors Of The Month Starfish Home Driftwood Home Straight From The Heart - Past Stories Lovingyou.com: Love Poems & Poetry ___________________________________________________ For those who have neither time nor quiet - Bible Studies for anyone facing the challenges of life - quick - easy - whenever, wherever you are: "Time Out For The Chronically Challenged" Quiet Times For All Who Care Wendy Webb Published UK 3rd December, price £2.95. ***At least FIVE FREE COPIES as an eBook to the first SFTH members who email me.Sorry, cartoons and other visual elements not included in eBook version! mailto:wwbuk@yahoo.co.uk Write "Free time" in header line... ___________________________________________________ From: Samantha.Kieffer@batesville.com (Sam) I have an URGENT prayer request! A wonderful co worker of mine just called & requested prayer for her mother. I don't know her mother's name, but she is in liver failure, heart failure & lung failure. Please keep her & the family members in your prayers...... they are a very close family. Thank you so much! Sam ___________________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "The goal in marriage is not to think alike but to think together." Verse for the Day: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and the united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." Ephesians 5:31 Kid's Thought For The Day: "Silence can be an answer." Parent's Thought For The Day "The college years are when your children and your luggage both leave home - but the laundry comes back to visit." Coach's Thought For The Day "Set your goals high, and dont stop till you get there." Bo Jackson Deep Thought For The Day: "A man who correctly guesses a woman's age may be smart but he's not very bright." _ /_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS \_\ / THUNDER27@aol.com /_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but \_\/\ \ Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live for the Son \_\/ of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 Video Imagery (Michael's Video Production Business.) " I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was the best Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such a beautiful job! They were so surprised and so touched---they really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too! Thanks again!"Kelli (RKaGe@aol.com) College Station, TX Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies! Check out the web page for Michael's video production business! Video Imagery http://members.aol.com/Videoimg/index.html Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you?
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