Ah,  Thanksgiving, the official beginning of the Holiday season will be here in a flash.  A lot of families have holiday traditions they hold close to their hearts. One holiday tradition is what we will be looking at, after a detour of sorts.

 Here, at the McVeigh residence Thanksgiving is more of a “I wonder what in the world is going to happen this year?”  A quick review will sum it up. 

There was the Thanksgiving a ways back when I was working at the Carefree Inn and nearly forgot to cook the pumpkin pies for the Grand Holiday Buffett.  Fortunately for my career and about 600 guests I did remember about them on the way home. Dutifully I returned to the hotel and completed my task, as the morning crew was walking in. 

Another year, my wife and I spent our first Thanksgiving at home. That was the year of my father getting sick, driving Mom and Dad back out to Sun City West. To make the day more joyful the septic system backed up into the house. Then the septic pumping truck broke down and had to get towed out of the yard, while waiting for another truck to come out. However, we did enjoy our Thanksgiving dinner with the young man who was sent out to help. It was his first Thanksgiving in Arizona.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I returned home from working the day after Thanksgiving and noticed a couple of our oven mitts and a kitchen towel quite singed and draped over a lounge chair. Thankfully they were caught in time by our guests and rushed outside. Spontaneous combustion?  I don’t know….

Tuesday morning was spent tooling about picking up last minute supplies for Turkey day. After a fast-paced morning of running around I decided to treat myself to a burger. About halfway through I felt something odd in my mouth. After a close inspection, I was able to feel that my bridge was a little loose, just what I needed before a holiday weekend. A few more bites and the something odd feeling in my mouth suddenly felt way past odd.  Another close inspection showed that my loose bridge was now my missing bridge. And, there was only one place it could be at this point in time. Yep, I swallowed it. Right now you’re probably saying the same thing my dentist did when I called. Having the greatest dentist in the world (Dr. Alan Katz, Scottsdale, if you need one), they got me in and set me up with a temporary bridge.

Which brings me to Thanksgiving traditions. This year, when the meal is finished, I am going to retreat to my office for approximately 20 minutes. There, I will uphold an age-old Holiday Tradition. I will put “Alice’s Restaurant” on, the way it is supposed to be. On vinyl, on a turntable, on Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!