I've only eaten away from home a few times on Thanksgiving so I don't really know what most people eat . . . but I'm sure most families have some special dish that has become traditional with them in particular. I grew up in a home that always had the traditional fare - the turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, etc. And then there's always some sort of jello thing, that green goop with nuts in it. Back in Mississippi when I was growing up and even a grown man just back for visits, we always had shrimp creole, and that's because Harry, my Cajun uncle my marriage, brought it. It was my farorite Thanksgiving thing.
I don't know how to make shrimp creole, and neither does anyone else in my family. That's a damn shame. Not long ago in talking with my sister (who still lives in Mississippi), she said that one of her kids had said, "You know, Thanksgiving just doesn't seem right without uncle Harry's shrimp creole." I agree. I don't mind eating turkey at all, but I've never been able to see all the fuss over having it on Thanksgiving. I usually eat more of the baked ham than the turkey. I am a sure enough big fan of dressing, or stuffing, as we called it down south. I guess that's because it was always stuffed into the turkey, which I think was an obvious ploy to get people to eat the turkey. I love cranberry sauce, so that's a must with me, but the one thing that can't be left off the menu is pecan pie. I'm lucky because my wife is the best pecan pie maker I've ever been around. I'll eat some pumpkin pie, but it's not my favorite.
I'd like to give the turkeys a break and stop eating them on Thanksgiving. Maybe we should save that for another day, like Independence Day. I know, we could start a new holiday just for turkey consumption. We supposedly eat the turkey because that's what our first settlers had. Just makes you wonder what we'd be eating if they'd killed something else. I won't speculate on that, but on behalf of the turkey I resent the lingering symbolism attached to it. It's like that old sacrificial lamb thing. If somebody gets the best of you, or marks you as easy prey, you get called a turkey. I think we owe the turkey more than that, so let's elevate its standing and give it proper recognition. Let's get rid of that stupid eagle symbol we love putting on anything patriotic, give that to the turkey. The turkey should be on a bill of some kind. We should create the fifteen dollar bill, or maybe a three dollar bill, and put the turkey on it. Anyway, my mind's made up - no turkey for me this year.
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