Fran's World…and Welcome to It!

Well I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and survived the holiday no matter how or who you spent it with. In my case, I did what I always do – have family and my "orphan" friends over (You know, any of us that are not attached at the moment or family is out of reach.)

This year it was my mom, my niece Athena, my son Spencer, my video editor Pete Klusman and the family that lives downstairs: Wanda and her three kids, Vanessa, William and Isabel. Nothing like two single women with kids at the helm of a feast.

Wanda and I agreed to split the cooking. I made the hot buttered rolls, candied yams & lasagna (Hey, I'm Italian and I've burnt every turkey I've ever made, so lasagna was a safe bet) and Wanda made the salad, mash potatoes and turkey. (And no, I did not try to stuff the turkey with my lasagna as some may think.)

Then each of us made dessert. Wanda made a delicious apple pie and as for me I whipped up a pudding pie and two pumpkin pies. Then we threw in some various drinks, ice cream, cookies, whip cream and we had a feast made by some hot mama queens.

Of course, contrary to my die-hard allegations that I hate being domestic, I do love decorating the holiday table. I put out leaves, candles, the good china, a fancy table cloth, a colorful paper turkey and topped it off by adding my comedic touch of two black Pilgrim hats (as if they come in any other color) to greet our guests with. I debated about getting the whole ensemble, but thought, okay Capo let's not get carried away. Besides $29.99 for an apron and a shoe buckle seemed a bit extreme.

A final touch was added when I did get a nice surprise visit by Steve who stopped by and brought a bouquet of flowers for our table as he scurried off to his ex-wife's house for Thanksgiving.

When it came time to serve the dinner, we put Pete to work and let him cut the turkey - you know men like that kind of thing.

Of course the interesting part came when we were dishing out the servings and all were so thick and juicy that it took all three of us to coordinate getting the food on the plate. Once that was done however we moved to the entertainment.

For entertainment we played oldies music, told funny stories, played our traditional game of Charades, so that everyone was bonding together and watched a puppet show put on by the two six year olds at the party. (And btw, if watching a 20-minute puppet show isn't love, I don't know what is!) Right then and there I gave thanks and showed gratitude to the Almighty that it wasn't a 45-minute show!

After an hour of games we gobbled down dessert with some eggnog (some spiked, some not), some hot apple cider (some spiked, some not) and some hot chocolate. Which appears spiked, but was not. (Now if these mustaches were on adults, unless they were doing a "got milk commercial" you might question otherwise.)

Anyway, after some more funny stories, the evening wound down. I drove Pete to the train station, and the rest of us hung out to 1:30am! Bottom line, we had a wonderful time.

The thing, is some people do not enjoy the holidays. They moan about how horrible things are. And granted there are times in life that things aren't so hunky dory. But as any motivational talker will tell you, it's all what you focus on in life. Aim the inner camera at the nice shots and life is wonderful. Aim the inner camera at the garbage, and life seems dismal.

Of course, you can always aim the camera at the past and compare notes to our forefathers and be thankful that you weren't a Pilgrim. Let's take a brief look at history and see how the first Thanksgiving actually went.

During the Pilgrims first winter in New England, 15 of the 18 married women died, as did 22 of the 38 men. It might have been the marriage that killed them, but that's just a guess. Actually, the Pilgrims needed the fat from butter to survive the harsh winter, a big diet no-no today. But face it "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" was not an option then. With the best-laid plans of mice and men (what about rats and women?) the Pilgrims had actually planned to bring enough butter, but before getting on the Mayflower they were forced to pay the English 100 pounds. (Not weigh a 100 pounds, pay a 100 pounds.) So out went the provisions, including their butter, which was their insurance policy for dealing with the bitter cold, and unfortunately no turkey could help them. It's amazing how something so trivial today, could be so life threatening back then.

So as we all reminisce on our recent Thanksgiving and get geared up for the up-coming holidays with family and friends, let's remember not to sweat the small stuff. If Aunt Mary happens to slobber over your face as she gives you a giant kiss, just pretend she's a Cocker Spaniel. If Uncle George happens to tell you about his appendix operation for the millionth time, just be happy he still has a memory and doesn't fart in your face.

Actually, when you think of it, this can be one of the things we thank the government for - a forced holiday that sets up family traditions. No matter whether you dread it or love it, it's a day marked on our calendars to bond with our loved ones that don't live with us. The other 360 days or so (we do have other holidays) we are too wrapped up in our own lives to stop and spend quality time with them. You know - work, errands, and household chores have a way of dominating our lives. No time to smell the roses... too busy making money to buy them. No time take a walk in the park, hang a picture of it in your office instead. No time to sit down and really discuss the day with your kids, just kiss them goodnight and look at them for a brief moment lovingly at night. Calls to good friends or love letters to your significant other? Nope, no time - shoot them an email instead, (but remember to save it) then if things don't work out because you're so busy you can always delete their name, and copy and paste the letter, (if it's a good one) for the next runner up for your soul. Holidays at least give us an excuse to "just be" and enjoy the people for who they are - warts and all.

But just in case you still can't see the light and forgive any past wrongdoings by others, here are a few things that all of us can be thankful for:

That fruitcake is only sold during the holidays.
That we now have answering machines and caller ID so we don't have to speak to people we don't want to.
That there is now no-fat candy so you can have half the taste and none of the guilt.
That there are some American cabdrivers left.
That Yoko Ono is no longer singing in public.
That your next Doctor's appointment isn't with Korvorkian.
That you haven't been abducted by aliens, at least not that you know of.
That we live in a country where we can make fun of our President, or anything else for that matter. and not get shot. (You may appear all over the news...but you will at least still be breathing.)
That you and your family are not turkeys (or are they?)
That someone invented Viagra

...and finally
That the Indians didn't make us eat tofu, and that we can buy all the butter or margarine we want.

It's the small things in life that we need to look at and be thankful for. Laugh often, love large and enjoy life's moments now so you don't have regrets later. If you do this, hopefully this season and in the future you will always remember to put the thanks in Thanksgiving and everything else you do.

Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving and Gratitude (But If All Else Fails, Be Thankful You Weren't a Pilgrim)

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