Today is Black Friday, a day when a large percentage of the population teems into the stores and shops in a frenzy of avarice and greed like a swarm of piranhas stripping a side of beef. I think I’ll just stay home and blog, eh?

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. Roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, creative varieties of sweet potatoes, stuffing, savory gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, varieties of rolls and breads, pumpkin pies and cakes are staples of this all-American holiday. But you know that.

I was invited to Allen and Dana’s home to share the holiday. Allen is the drummer (excellent) for Top Shelf, a band I’ve been associated with for nearly 20 years. I was grateful for the invite; otherwise my Thanksgiving, like last year, would have been carry-out in front of the TV.

When I arrived, the atmosphere, a humid,  redolent, intoxicating miasma, so familiar, so exciting to the senses, immediately enveloped me.  Adjacent and open to the kitchen was the dining area backed by floor length windows with an expansive view of the snow-blanketed back yard. Tables were set.

Al’s parents, an aunt and her son, Al’s and Dana’s four teenage children, and their dog (his name escapes me atm) were already present. The Thanksgiving dishes were warming, the bird still in the oven, the little popper button stubbornly refusing to pop. “Do you trust those things,” Al’s dad asked him. “Nope,” was the reply and Al got a roasting thermometer, opened the oven, and POP!, the button chose that moment to release. Serendipity? Read on . . .

Al removed the turkey from the oven and placed it on the counter. It was beautiful, golden brown, picture-perfect! “This is the biggest turkey we’ve ever done,” Dana said as she got her phone out to take a picture of the perfect bird. Al assembled an electric carving knife and proceeded to slice a plateful of turkey.

Two eight foot tables, the ones with the folding legs–“bingo” tables I call them, with matching table cloths were positioned lengthwise together in the dining area. The places were carefully set with attractive pottery plates and shiny silverware. Glasses at each place setting were filled with ice and beverages. There were cute floral centerpieces, condiments, and everything looked very nice. The platter of turkey was placed upon one of the tables and the side dishes were taken from the warmer and put in place. There wasn’t anywhere on either table to put anything else and still have room to eat, the feast was ready.

Everyone began to gather around the table to say grace when, all of a sudden, there was a CLICK sound and the table with the freshly sliced turkey on it collapsed on one side, its burden sliding gracefully onto the floor! Apparently the latch on one of the folding legs wasn’t completely secured.   🙁

At first no one said anything. The looks of shock, dismay, even horror, on the faces of the participants was priceless though not too funny at the moment.  Give Al and Dana credit here because there was no screaming or wailing. What can you do once you’ve spilled the milk? Clark Griswold couldn’t have handled the situation better.

My first thought was, “Damn! I wish I’d caught that with my camera.” A viral video if I ever saw one! In an attempt to mollify the situation, I commented, “If this hadn’t happened to us it would have been hilarious.” A couple people agreed, maybe even a chuckle, but no one laughed.   🙁

The shock wore off and the cleanup began. The dog, a beautiful golden retriever, to his extreme credit, laid on the floor behind the table watching the scene play out. He didn’t move a muscle toward the feast on the floor. I can’t help but wonder what the patient pooch, a smart dog incidentally, was thinking. Something like, “THANKSGIVING, YEAH!” maybe? There was a lot of turkey on the floor that would probably default to our well-behaved canine after the celebration, eh?

It occurred to me it was probably a good thing my friends had roasted their largest turkey ever. We managed to get another plateful of turkey off the remnants of the bird not sliced and while no one got stuffed with turkey we all had some. Most of the side dishes were spared as they were on the other table so it was far from a total loss.

The stuff of Thanksgiving is traditional and a prominent factor in celebrating the holiday. However, I believe the most important thing about Thanksgiving is the gathering. Material possessions, while comforting and nice, can disappear in a heartbeat. What do you have left after something like that? Possessions can be replaced. Family and friends, irreplaceable, are the most precious privilege  of our lives. That’s what I think Thanksgiving is all about.

On that count, Al and Dana’s Thanksgiving dinner was a tremendous success, in spite of the slight digression into a real-life National Lampoon vacation movie.

I’m sure the great turkey slide of 2014 will become an icon in the family journal. I can hear Dana or Al, at some Thanksgiving in the future (or whenever), saying, “Remember Thanksgiving 2014 when the table fell?” I bet it comes up every year! I’m pretty sure they’ll have a good laugh about it then.

As far as Thanksgiving goes for me, I’m grateful to be living in the USA and for friends like Al and Dana.

I think the dog will have the last laugh! “THANKSGIVING! YEAH!”

🙂