My Best T – Part 5

 Happy Thanksgiving (a day late)!

But we should always be thankful, so . . .

I had a good day yesterday. We went over to my brother's house and played ping-pong, baseball, read stories, ate too much, and enjoyed our time. It was different going somewhere for Thanksgiving because we've usually hosted the meal at our house or before that we would be staying at my grandparents' house and we'd have it there. I don't remember the last time we went somewhere for Thanksgiving until yesterday.

What did I do the rest of the week? I'm not sure. Let me think. Oh, my mom and I worked on organizing and cleaning out some things with our new furniture. I worked on some things for the Christmas Play, read, worked on blog posts some, and practiced the violin. Today I start decorating the house for Christmas! I'm excited, but I still feel like I JUST put things away. I do have some other things to do too.

Today also starts the Black Friday sales for so many things. But you should check out the HUGE Indie Author Sale because there are 400+ books listed! And yes, some of mine are on there. In fact, all my Christmas stories are listed, and my Woodbreak series! Help yourself!

Some of you may already know this, but if you haven't been a reader here long, you may not. But in December I post all sorts of days, not just on Fridays. So a Christmas story might start on a different day, so check back often. :) And then there's this Christmas blog party . . .

 

And now for the last part of this Thanksgiving story.

My Best Thanksgiving

Part 5

    Lee ate quickly and then drove so Dad could eat. However, when it began to grow dark, they switched again. Mom found a classical radio station to listen to and everyone settled down. We all had our pillows with us and I propped mine up so I could lean back and watch the stars until eventually I fell asleep.
    I only half woke up when we arrived at Grandma’s around midnight and stumbled upstairs to bed. We always slept in the same rooms when we came so no one had to be told where to go. This time I didn’t have to share a bed with Jason.

    The tantalizing smell of cinnamon rolls mingling with whiffs of roasting turkey roused me in the morning. Ginger was the only other one up besides Grandma and Grandpa when I came down to the kitchen.
    Grandma greeted me with a hug. “Reagan Rowe, you’ve grown at least two inches since I saw you last,” she exclaimed, holding me off and looking me up and down.
    “But he’s as skinny as a rail like he’s always been,” Grandpa laughed, hugging me next. “Don’t they feed you anything down in Texas?” Grandpa loved to tease. “Here Grandma,” he said, “feed this beanstalk before he gets so thin he just disappears.”
    And so the day began. Grandma’s cinnamon rolls were the best I’ve had even to this day and they were the perfect start to the day.
    Around ten, my aunts, uncles and cousins started arriving, each family bringing something to add to our mid-afternoon meal. While we waited for the hour for feasting to finally arrive, the cousins dispersed here and there to play, visit and enjoy being together. My family was the only one from out of state, so it it was always special when we came. But not only was I the middle child, I was also the middle cousin, and more often than not I’d be more inclined to wander alone then join a game of Monopoly, Careers or Uno. That day was no different.
    Grabbing my camera, I pulled on my heavy jacket, for the sky was overcast and the wind nippy, and went outside. It had been dark out when we had arrived the night before so I hadn’t noticed the wagon in the side yard. Grandpa had this old wagon that he used just for fun things like hay rides or in parades or to go on picnics and things like that, and it was usually stored in the barn, but that day it was out. I wandered over. The wheels had been painted a golden yellow recently and the back of the wagon was piled with orange pumpkins and yellow and green squash. Hay bales were set about the wagon with buckets of Grandma’s mums here and there with a few more pumpkins and squash scattered about while golden brown cornstalks, gathered together, were leaning against the wagon. A large bow of orange and black held together cornstalks entwined with autumn leaves. This hung from the back of the wagon. It was lovely. I knew there would be family pictures taken there later, but right then I didn’t want any people in the picture. I wanted to capture it just the way it was.
    The large bell hanging just outside the kitchen door began to ring loudly announcing the feast we had all been waiting for. There was a mad scramble for the side door (We weren’t allowed to use the kitchen door.), and coats, jackets and boots were hurriedly pulled off and tossed aside. We’d pick them up later.
    In the large dining room were two long tables. One was for the younger cousins and the other was for the older folks. As usual, I headed over to the younger table, but Grandpa stopped me.
    “No, Ray, you aren’t a child any more. You join us here.”
    I couldn’t find any words but looked from Grandpa to Dad. Did he really mean it? Dad was smiling.
    “Yes, Ray, you proved yourself on this trip and you can be considered one of the older ones now.”
    Still not finding my voice, I just smiled. Sitting at the grown-up’s table was an honor and I knew what things I’d say I was thankful for.
    Before Grandma and the older girl cousins brings out the food, each person has five kernels of dried corn placed on their plate. Then one of the cousins quotes the poem “Five Kernels of Corn.” It’s a poem about the first winter in America when the pilgrims only had enough food to give each person five kernels of corn for a meal. After the poem is finished, a basket is passed around and each person drops his corn in and says five things he is thankful for.
    When it was my turn I dropped my corn in and said, “I’m thankful I got to help Lee pack the trailer, for a dust storm to make me appreciate the lovely weather here, police officers who are always ready to help, for the best Thanksgiving ever and,” I paused and glanced about the room at all my relatives and family. “And I’m thankful for the memories I’ll never forget of our trip, this day and everyone here!”
    This was Thanksgiving. A full, rich harvest, plenty to eat, a family to share it with and knowing I was growing up. I thought back over the trip from Texas to Virginia and all our delays. That dust storm had caused me to appreciate the fresh, crisp air about me like I had never done before. And the flat tire, the nights crowded into hotel rooms, hours and hours stuck in the van together, that is what memories are made from. Memories are things to be thankful for. Memories to hold in your heart forever, to pull out again and relive year after year. Memories of a Thanksgiving I’ll always remember.
 

Do you have a special Thanksgiving Day memory?

Have you checked out the Black Friday sale yet?

Does it feel like we just had Christmas to you?

My Best T – Part 4

 Good morning FFFs!

Right now it's 63º outside. At least the wind has died down. Yesterday it was crazy windy! My sister and I decided not to go walk because of the wind. Can you believe it is the 20th of November? In some ways the year has dragged. In other ways it feels like it was just April. Crazy.

What have I been doing this week? Well, last Friday evening my brother and dad arrived with furniture from my grandparent's house. (They are moving into an apartment after 57 years of living in their house.) So we had to help unload a lot of old, heavy, sturdy furniture.

Saturday was busy trying to go through things and getting some things organized that came from my grandparents. In the afternoon, my sis, dad, and I took play props and backdrops to church and worked almost 2 hours getting things set up the way we wanted. And yes, I will share this year's Christmas play story later in December.

Sunday I had to be at church early for music practice, then we had Sunday school, church, bell practice with the children, and then the cast (except 3 members and 1 stage hand) ate lunch. After that we had a long play practice. I only got to read a little while that day.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday were much the same. Cleaning out, organizing, putting things in new places, practicing the violin, and other things.

Yesterday I did a little shopping for a few things we needed for the Christmas play, and then an older lady came over with sewing projects for my sister. Last evening I actually wrote! Just a little, but it was something. I got the first 133 words of the next Woodbreak book written. Not sure how long it will take me to write it, but it's started. And I have an idea for it. Just pray it works because the idea is very vague right now. ;)

And that, my friends, is that.

 My Best Thanksgiving

Part 4

    “Well, as to that, I’m not sure if they could see any better’n I can, but if some young person wants to try, I’ll not object, will you Peggy?”
    Mrs. Peggy shook her head. “I’d feel better if it was someone else and that’s a fact.”
    “All right. Someone will be here in a minute. You ready, Ray?”
    I had pulled down those goggles, pulled up my bandana and nodded. I said a quick good bye to the old couple and then followed Lee back out into the dust.
    I don’t care if someone did say the wind was abating; it didn’t seem like it at all, as I was practically blown across the road. Together Dad, Lee and I made our way back to the side door on the van and climbed in.
    We were all coughing, but Dad and Lee were doing it the worst. Carol and Ginger quickly helped untie our bandanas while Mom opened bottles of water for each of us. That water sure tasted good, but it took a long time before all the grittiness was gone from my mouth.
    Mom insisted she drive and Dad sank into the passenger seat still coughing some.
    “You’re dirty!” Jason observed from the back.
    I think we knew that. All I wanted then was a hot shower, and I’m sure Dad and Lee longed for that even more than I did. After all, they had been out in the storm a lot longer than I had.
    Slowly Mom started off. She doesn’t usually like to drive the van when we are pulling the trailer, but this time she knew Dad was exhausted.

    We stopped at a truck stop so the three of us could shower and change while Mom and the girls and Jason got the van cleaned up. The outside didn’t really matter, but the inside where we had sat was filthy.
    Clean clothes had never felt better. Lee said he actually felt human again.

    That night was spent in a hotel. We had two rooms, one for the girls and one for Mom and Dad and us three boys. I shared a bed with Jason. At least until I woke up freezing in the middle of the night. Jason had taken all the covers and had rolled so much in them that I couldn’t pull any back. He had also decided to sleep with his feet in my ribs. Finally I grabbed my pillow and, finding the extra blanket Lee hadn’t wanted for his roll-a-way, lay down in the little space between the bed and the wall.
    I slept fine there but Mom got frightened in the morning because she didn’t see me and thought I had walked in my sleep.

    Our second day of travel went much smoother than the first. Dad and Lee took turns driving. I used some of my paper to write down the license plates we saw. Carol used a few pieces to play games of tic-tac-toe with Emmy, and Ginger used some to draw pictures on and write down the story Vicki dictated to her. I wish I still had a copy of Vicki’s story because it was all about the dust storm and I remember it was rather good for a seven-year-old.

    Wednesday morning Dad called Grandma and Grandpa to tell them we’d be much later than we had thought because of the delays. He said he didn’t know when we’d get in.
    The trees along the way were gorgeous: flaming red, golden yellow, deep green and rustic brown. The sky was a deep blue with a few scattered clouds piled here and there. We made a game of imagining what the clouds looked like and then creating a story to go with them. When we stopped for breaks the air was brisk and invigorating. You know how it is when you have to ride in the car for hours, you want to run and explore. Well, since we were already later than we had hoped to be, Dad kept our breaks short but saw to it that we ran each time we got out of the van. We finished listening to the book on tape that we had brought and turned on the music.
    It was mid afternoon when our next delay happened. Dad was driving and Mom was in the front too. Everyone else had been sleeping for a while when the van began to bump and jolt.
    “Honey,” Mom said, “I think you’d better pull over.”
    Dad had already slowed down and pulled off on the shoulder. It was a busy highway, so he turned his flashers on and got out on Mom’s side of the road.
    A minute later he put his head in and announced, “Flat tire. Lee, how hard is it going to be to get the spare?
    “Not long. I put it in the back of the trailer on the side.”
    The younger three started to beg to get out and Mom sent Carol and Ginger to take them into the empty field to run off their energy. Jason especially needed to run. I stayed around to help get the tire out of the trailer. A police car pulled up behind us and then put some cones out to make the traffic move to the other lane since the flat was on the driver’s side.
    Dad and Lee had some hard work getting the tire changed. The officer and I had some time to talk, and he even let me listen to some of the calls coming in over his radio and explained some things. Finally the tire was changed and the flat tire loaded in the trailer. Then Dad sent me to find Mom and the others. (Some time during the changing of the tire, Mom had strolled off across the field with the others.) It sure felt great to run.
    We were back on the road again. I really hoped we wouldn’t have any more trouble because I wanted to get to Grandma and Grandpa’s. Besides, Jason and Vicki were growing rather grumpy from being in the van so long. Carol started us singing and we sang every song we could think of from “When the Saints Go Marching In,” to “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” to “Jesus Loves Me” to “Yellow Rose of Texas.” We were hoarse and hungry when we finally stopped. Since we had expected to be at Grandma’s for supper, we hadn’t packed anything. That meant we had to stop and pick up Taco Bell. We almost never ate out, so that was a treat.

Did you get any writing done this week?

Does your family eat out much?

What are some things your family does on long road trips?

My Best T – Part 3

 Good morning, FFFs,

It's a cold morning. 30º out. We have only had a few mornings where it's gotten into the low 30s.

This week has been nice to be home again. I have worked on things for the Christmas play at church, practiced the violin, helped clean and organize some things in preparation for some "new" furniture. Actually, it's old furniture from my grandparents who got some of it when they were married, some was from when they were young, and some is from their parents. But my grandparents decided about two weeks ago that they were done living in their house where they've lived for 57 years, and are moving to a smaller apartment. They are both in their early 90s. I'm sure it will be nice for them to have a smaller place and not have to worry about home or yard maintenance. But it will be different when we want to go up and visit them. Anyway, a lot of their furniture is coming down here, and we have to get ready for it. Probably going to be doing more of that today.

I haven't done any writing. This week just isn't the season for me. Maybe next week since I'll have stuff for the play done, but we'll see.

Here's the next part of this Thanksgiving story.

 My Best Thanksgiving

Part 3

    On we drove through the storm of dust which swept and swirled around, hiding nearby objects, blocking out the sky and slowing traffic to a crawl while changing each vehicle to the same color: dirty grey. Tumbleweeds, trash and small branches were flung across the road or smacked into the side of the van or trailer. We could hardly see more than a few yards in any direction. Carefully, cautiously, Dad continued to crawl forward. In the van, all was silent.
    “Dad!” Lee exclaimed suddenly, “There’s a car over there with flashing lights.”
    Sure enough, as we crept closer, we could see a car with its flashers on pulled over on the opposite side of the road. I pressed my face to the window wondering why they had stopped.
    “Dad, they have a flat tire! We have to help them. It’s some older people!” I had seen an older man trying to make his way to the back of the car. Probably to get a spare tire.
    “Ray’s right,” Carol added. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”
    Dad didn’t say anything until he had pulled the van and trailer far enough ahead so that there was plenty of room for traffic to pass by and had turned his flashers on. “Lee, Ray, get something to tie over your nose and mouth.”
    I was surprised to find myself once again included with Lee. Quickly I pulled out my handkerchief, folded it in a triangle and let Ginger tie it about my face.
    “I wish we had safety glasses,” Dad said to Mom as he tied his handkerchief about his own face.
    “I think we have one pair in the emergency kit,” Mom replied, opening the glove compartment and pulling out the kit. She was right. One pair of safety glasses was stashed there.
    “I have my swimming glasses,” Vicki piped up from the back seat.
    “Why do you have swimming goggles?” Carol asked, laughing.
    “Case we go swimming.” Vicki’s voice was incredulous.
    “See if you can wear them, Ray,” Dad instructed and the goggles were passed up to me. They were a little snug, but they would work. Now Lee was the only one without eye protection of some sort.
    That’s when I had an idea.
    “Don’t we have some packing tape?” I asked, ripping out two pages from my notebook.
    Ginger pulled a box from under the seat and produced the tape. She caught on to what I was going to do and hurriedly helped me.
    “What are you doing, Ray?” Dad asked.
    “Making Lee some glasses.”
    In moments they were ready. True, they looked rather like those square 3-D glasses you get to read comic books or something, but instead of colored plastic in the middle, Ginger had put packing tape on the front and the back. Lee looked really funny when he put them on, but he said he could see.
    Dad instructed everyone else to stay in the van and to keep the windows shut. Then, using the side door on the right, we quickly climbed out and made our way back down the road.
    The wind was strong, but I didn’t realize just how strong until we rounded the back corner of the trailer. I could hardly keep my eyes open enough to see anything even though I had on Vicki’s goggles, for the dust was blowing so hard that my eyes just closed instinctively. Since there was no traffic, at least none close enough for us to see anyway, we staggered across the road, bending almost double just to make headway against the wind. Lee kept a hold on my jacket and helped me along. Even with our bandanas over our mouths and noses, the dust got in and I started coughing some.
    We reached the car and heard really bad coughing coming from the back. There was the man, an elderly man, bent over the open trunk of his car, coughing and coughing.
    “Ray!” Dad had to shout to be heard. “Help him back inside the car, get in with him and give him some water.” He shoved a water bottle into my jacket pocket.
    The man seemed more than willing to get back in the car, and I climbed in the back and shut the door. The instant relief from the dust and wind was wonderful and I pulled off the goggles and my handkerchief.
    “Here,” I gasped, coughing a little and clearing my throat, which felt dry, and handing the water to the older man. “Have some water. It should help.”
    The man’s hand shook as he raised the bottle and took a drink.
    There was a gritty, grimy feeling in my mouth, and I longed for some water too, but knew the man needed it more than I did.
    “Horace, are you okay?” It was the little, old lady in the passenger seat who asked the question.
    After another long drink of water, a vigorous blowing of his nose and several deep throat clearings, the man was able to reply. “Yep, thanks to this young fella. But we need to get that tire changed.”
    “Don’t worry about it,” I put in, afraid he might again venture out into the dust storm, “My dad and brother are working on it.”
    The older couple, Horace and Peggy, fell to talking and asking questions so that it was a little while before I notice the red and blue flashing lights before us on the road and more behind us. From where I was, I couldn’t see if the vehicles were police cars or what, only the eery flashing colors. I wondered how long we would be stuck out there and how long the storm would last.
    Eventually someone knocked on my door, opened it and slid in. I couldn’t tell who it was except for the paper glasses he wore, for his face, his hands, in fact everything on him was black. He coughed some and then said, “Your tire is changed and the police are going to see that you make it safely home. They said the storm seems to be lessening. Do you need someone to drive your car?” 

Have you had much cold weather?

What has your week been filled with?

Do you want the next part of this story?

My Best T – Part 2

 Good morning, FFFs,

It's a beautiful fall morning only more on the warm side than the crisp and cool side. Right now it's around 56º and is supposed to be in the upper 70s. The cold isn't supposed to return until the middle of next week. So I guess I'll enjoy short sleeves and sunshine along with the lovely fall leaves. What kind of weather are you all having?

This week was–different. Saturday night I was so tired that I had gone to bed early after taking a 30 minute nap accidentally, and then slept for 11 hours thanks to the time change and the fact that it was Sunday. I taught Children's Church, and then had a short play practice.

Monday was another crazy busy day at the office. We were all really tired and worn out, but we kept smiling and voting people.

Tuesday was one long day at the polls. I was up by 4:30. We opened the polls at 6:00 and had a line that didn't stop until after 9:00. And then we had people constantly in the room voting, and more lines during the day until 6:00 PM. Then we finally had an empty room. We had more people voting, but it was the slowest time of the day. Closed the polls at 7, packed up, and then took the ballots to the County Courthouse.

Wednesday I stayed home! I just did whatever I felt like doing without making a list of things to work on. It was really nice. And I took a nap. 

Yesterday I actually made a list. I didn't do it all, but I did get some things done. And I wrote! I actually wrote over a thousand words! I haven't done that since Sept. 8. Pretty exciting, huh?

And today I'm going to clean the house. And work on other things. I hope you enjoy this next part of the story.

My Best Thanksgiving

Part 2

    Lee’s alarm was going off when I woke up. It was four-thirty. I didn’t really want to get up since I’d gone to bed so late, but knowing I could sleep in the van later, I managed to crawl out of bed, blinking as Lee switched on the light. The three of us boys shared a room, but Jason is such a heavy sleeper that we could turn lights on and even talk and he wouldn’t wake up until around seven each morning.
    After we’d dressed and had our quiet time with our Bibles, Lee and I headed downstairs to help Dad load the trailer. He wasn’t up.
    “Come on, Ray,” Lee whispered, jerking his head towards the door, “we can pack it.”
    “Just us?” I asked. I wasn’t sure we could do it. Not after looking at all the piles of things we had to pack.
    Lee didn’t have any doubts. “I usually pack most of it anyway,” he told me. “Dad just brings things out.”
    I guess I hadn’t ever thought about that fact. It was rather fun helping pack the trailer. It was dark out still, so we had to turn the porch light on and set up one of our large flashlights so Lee could see the back of the trailer.
    We were about half way done when Mom came out on the porch with her sweater on. “Wow, you guys sure work quickly,” she exclaimed. “Dad was so tired this morning that he slept through his alarm.”
    “That’s okay,” I said. “Is he still sleeping?”
    Mom nodded. “I was going to wake him but thought I’d see how things were going first. I heard you guys come down.”
    “Ray,” Lee called from inside the trailer, “where’s the next things?” Coming to the door he looked out. “Oh, good morning, Mom. Dad still sleeping?”
    Again, Mom nodded.
    “Let him sleep. He has to drive today.”

    By the time Dad woke up some thirty minutes later, we had the trailer all loaded and were only waiting on the last things that went in the van. Mom and the older girls had breakfast packed and I couldn’t wait to eat. They made these great boxes for each person, rather like a carry-out meal from McDonalds only better, with hot cinnamon-raisin biscuits, tater-tots, dried apples and, for those of us who wanted it, juice. I always loved eating in the car on road trips.
    Amazingly, we left the house ten minutes early, but we had to go around the block because Emmy had forgotten her bag for the van.
    At last we were on the road. This time for real. Dad said that if we’d forgotten anything else, we’d just have to do without it. At that Mom looked back at us and asked, “Does everyone have shoes and socks on?”
    We all did. I remember one trip where I had gone out to the van in bare feet and it wasn’t until we stopped at a gas station that we realized that I had no shoes. Dad wasn’t too happy about stopping at a store to buy shoes for me. Ever since then I’ve been extra careful to wear shoes when we leave on trips.

    Since we lived in west Texas and had to drive all the way to the middle of Virginia, it made for a long trip. But I enjoyed road trips. I still do. I like watching the scenery change, looking for license plates (one time we saw all fifty states, except Rhode Island, and five Canadian provinces.), listening to books on tape or better yet, listening to Lee read books aloud. He’s a great reader.
    But I must get back to the story.
    I had been sleeping for a little while after breakfast when I was awakened by hearing talk about a detour and a storm. Sleepily I opened my eyes and sat up. There was no sign of construction but I could see a dark sky up ahead. Now, I’ve always been fascinated by storms so I decided to stay awake and watch. Glancing around I noticed that Lee, Carol and Mom were sleeping. The younger three were in the very back and were busy with whatever they had brought. Ginger, sitting behind the driver’s seat with me, was leaning forward and talking with Dad.
    “That doesn’t look like a regular storm, Dad,” she was saying.
    “You’re right, it looks different,” Dad agreed.
    I leaned around so I could see out the front better too. For a while we were quiet, watching the dark mass before us. It was growing closer. Suddenly a gust of wind shook the van.
    “Wow!” I exclaimed. “That wind is strong.”
    Dad was slowing the van down somewhat and didn’t reply.
    “There’s another detour sign, Dad,” Ginger pointed out. We must have turned onto a detour before I was fully awake.
    The wind was blowing stronger now and it was growing darker. The others woke up and Dad slowed even more. With our bigger van and our trailer, the wind really shook it when we went too fast. We began to drive into the dark cloud. But it was strange. There was no rain, no thunder or lightning, but still it was dark and things were blowing.
    “What’s going on, Dad?” I asked, watching some tumble weeds race across the road before us. The lights of oncoming traffic appeared like two eerily glowing eyes approaching from the midst of a mystic vapor.
    “I think it’s a dust storm,” Dad answered, making sure the vents on the van were closed.
    “Well, there hasn’t been much rain for a while,” Lee put in, leaning forward.
    “Imagine trying to walk through it!” Carol exclaimed. “Or living in a log house right now.” She always thought of things like that. Perhaps it came from reading so much. I like to read too, but I never think of those things.

How was your week?

Have you ever driven in a dust storm?

Do you enjoy eating in the vehicle during road trips?