Thanks for the memories

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is that it's so predictable. Other holidays seem to have been so commercialized they have all but lost their meaning. But Thanksgiving has changed very little through the years.

This holiday has always been centered around family and togetherness. It matters little whose family you're with, the Thanksgiving traditions are all very similar. For most families it goes something like this.

Mom rises early to roast the turkey, with her own family-recipe stuffing. It will take nearly all day to prepare all the trimmings like mashed potatoes and rich turkey gravy. At some point relatives and neighbors arrive bringing green bean casseroles and yams, or maybe you call them sweet potatoes.

There will be fruit salads and some form of cranberries - sauce, relish, Jello - whatever your family prefers. Dessert is always pie, especially pumpkin pie along with one or two other fall varieties such as apple, cherry, mince, or rhubarb.

Activities on Thanksgiving Day are pretty much the same coast to coast. Kids sleep late, rising only when the aroma of turkey wafts into their rooms. They wander out in pajamas to flop in front of the TV and watch Thanksgiving Day parades.

First course of Thanksgiving Dinner is always pigskin - a football game. When I was growing up in Michigan it was always between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers. Then came dinner. After dinner, everyone pitched in to help with clean-up and dishwashing - except for Grandpa, who fell asleep on the sofa.

There was almost always an afternoon "game" involving all the family members who were young or young-at-heart. If the weather was warm it might be touch football. If it had snowed it was more likely sledding till our toes were frozen and our snowsuits sopping wet.

Thanksgiving evening Mama made turkey salad sandwiches from the leftovers and the whole family played table games - Rook, Monopoly, Dominoes, or Parcheezi. Before bed, we would watch a Christmas movie like "It's a Wonderful Life" or, my favorite, "Miracle on 34th Street." Of course, we couldn't choose which one to watch. We watched whatever the networks decided to air, because our TV only got three channels and there were no such things as movies on tape or DVD.

I guess in that respect Thanksgiving has changed. Today the after-dinner game is more likely to be Guitar Hero than sledding, and the movie will be on Blueray not network TV.

But the most important tradition observed on this holiday, is one I hope will never change. That's the part where we count our blessings, expressing our heart-felt gratitude for the wonderful privilege of being Americans and for the happy, secure lives we all have here. It doesn't matter what your income level, by international standards, all Americans are rich and have much to be grateful for.

So I, for one, want to make sure that the tradition of counting our blessings is passed down to the next generation. It's what keeps our country and our families strong, and it's as American as apple pie, or should I say, pumpkin pie.

So, praise the Lord ... then pass the turkey!