Happy Thanksgiving
This morning we woke up at 6:30 for a formation and then everyone jumped back into bed and enjoyed the training holiday. Around 1:00 we headed to the chow hall dressed in BDU's (don't they look happy?). Some guys were complaing about having to dress in uniform on a training holiday and decided to either not go or wear civilian clothes in protest. I don't think anyone noticed though, as we spoke with several officers who gave us the usual greetings along with a glazed look. I don't blame them, who wants to eat in a cafeteria on Thanksgiving.
The food was like packed styrafome peanuts flavored with mud. Maybe I'm spoiled since some people did enjoy it, but I'll never get used to fake potatoes. Perhaps I've just become too accustomed to good family cooking. (Minus the time in Florida where I picked up takeout from Boston Market.) Oh well I've had worse Thanksgivings, like that time I had the flu the entire day, so it could have been worse.
I really don't want to give the wrong impression to everyone, I'm sure they did the best with what budget they have in the chow hall. Overall everyone has been good to us so I shouldn't gripe too much.
I hope everyone is having a great time filling up on good food and getting in some family time. If you would like to post what you did in the comment section I'd be curious to know.
posted by Jim Tourville @ 6:11 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Hey Jim, per your request, here's what our holiday worked out to be. Kendall and I got up today late, of course, after listening to some terrible bands on Wednesday night. It was about the worst work week ever, so I needed a couple of beers to calm down. Anyway, since this was K's first T-day away from the fam, she wanted to keep the tradition of watching the parade on TV (something my family doesnt do because we're usually not awake.) The only problem was no cable. We hooked the wires up and programmed it, and we got some channels, but no NBC. The cable wire makes a horrible antenna, so we could see the pictures in fuzzy b/w but no sound. We tried to find a webcast, but that didnt work either. Finally, I went all mcguyver and took some telephone wire, stripped the ends and plugged it into the coaxial connection. The pic snapped to a blurry color with good sound. Then K (who says hi in a sleepy voice) made some appetizers for my parents and we went over there. (I played Halo 2- my cuz and I swapped systems for a week.)
Dinner was the same as usual. Better than mess hall food I'm sure. I was the only one that showed up in BDUs though. Boy was I embarassed.
K and I watched the Peanuts Thanksgiving, and then rejoined the family. I pulled out a bunch of old photos from a cabinet, and stirred up a bunch of memories. Then dad got out the slide projector, (I swear to god older than you or I) and slides from my childhood. Lots of memories. He even had photos of his base in the Philippeans from when he was in Vietnam. They were picture perfect, no mold, no fading. I was shocked. Kendall fell asleep sitting upright with her head resting against my hand. After the slide show we took some pics of her sleeping and packed up to go home. It was a pretty groovy T-day, lots of family time. I found a picture of you at my graduation from P-dam in that bag I pulled out. Thanks for driving out for that, by the way. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't bring you up and say how much we miss you. Happy Thanksgiving.
Hey Jim. Again, as per your request, here's what went down for T-day for me and Pat McC hehe.
After finishing our last-ever day of work in PA, we fought the Harrisburg traffic (read more about this here http://ashutts.blogspot.com/) to drive out to NJ to Michaelene's parents. It was the first time we'd visited since her brother moved out, so I got to sleep in a real bed. It was much better than freezing my ass off on the couch. T-day morning I went out with her dad on one of those male bonding trips. We went to feed the "turkeys" near his tree stand so that Friday morning he might have a better chance of shooting a deer. I guess it's legal in NJ, but I'm still fighting with myself over that one. Then around 12, their whole extended family came over. It's an experience that words on a computer screen do absolutely no justice to, but simply put there's always something incredibly entertaining going on. There was her grandmother yelling at the little kids to stop painting the walls with their dirty hands. There was her brother, running and cursing, taking a .22 out to the garage because he thought mice were getting into his car. There were very heated arguments over whether certain traditions are Lithuanian or Polish, with bold accusations that the Lithuanians stole everything from the Polish anyway. There was usually at least one little cousin riding her brother around like a horse. And then of course there was the verbal beatings a vegetarian must undergo on Thanksgiving. And all of this even before the wine came out. Like someone once told me, there's always enough alcohol to deal with family.
Michaelene says hi. We're keeping our fingers crossed for Memphis.
Hey J,
We had a quiet Thanksgiving here in GA. I cooked the second Turkey of my life and the first in 10 years. (Photos posted at http://www.fotolog.net/tammy) It was pretty tasty. Baby woke up after I had put the FIRST bite in my mouth! :) She ended up sitting happily while we ate, tho, so it wasn't so bad.
We're thinking of you everyday. We love you! T,J,&L
Hi Vern-
We had a pretty regular Thanksgiving Day. Darbi spent the morning with my parents, then the four of us went to my in-laws for a meal, then we brought Darbi to her dad so she could go with him to the Tourville gathering. Then PJ & the baby & I made the trek back to Mom & Dad's for dessert and a little family Texas Hold 'Em Poker (amidst the laughter, squealing, fighting, gurgling and overall fun of all the grandkids). Hope you had a good Turkey Day. Know that we all continue to think of you every day. I think it's great that you're keeping us all posted this way. Love you, Jo
Jimbo!
Happy Thanksgiving. Here's my recap: Both my sisters were out of town for this Thanksgiving holiday so it was me, my father, and his wifes family down here in Miami. The night before Turkey killin day, we had a dinner and my fathers wife told me twice that Thanksgiving dinner was set for the next evening at 7pm. (Note that we are on Cuban time here and 7pm usually means 9pm) I arrive on Thanksgiving at 6:50 pm to the house ready to eat because I kept an empty stomach for the nights festivities. I get to the house and everyone had already ate. So that was my fabulous Thanksgiving. Cold leftovers that needed to be heated in the microwave. (Needless to say his new family has reminded me yet again how I'm part of their family) After I hung out with my father I went to hang out with my friend Gabe and "Stevo" in Southbeach where we drank a bit to much and listened to some Drum-n-Bass at a lounge. I had a really nice time which helped to balance the evening out. After the lounge we went to this pub that you would have totally loved and if you ever get back to Miami I must take you there. They have really good beer from several microbreweries. I got pretty lit and then came home.
Yesterday the festivities continued with a baby naming for a cousin of mine. She is so cute and so small! The family hung out again and ate more food to celebrate the birth this afternoon. It was really nice and now I'm trying to start/finish a website that I was supposed to do a LOOONNNNNGGGG time ago.
Chatted with Dan for a minute b4 Thanksgiving. He was saving room in his stomach for all the empanadas he could fit into his belly. HAH. Just in case you never heard what an Empanada is take a look here: http://www.embargentina.or.jp/rrbb/images/empanada.jpg
Your hippy friend here ate a vegetarian one...with cheese. They are quite good and the meat ones usually disappear off the platter quite quickly...
Well I hope you are doing the best you can. Know that your friends and family are thinking about you often. If you need anything please don't hesitate to ask. Send me your mailing address and I will mail you anything you need. And if you know where you are going to be for xmas email me that address as well.
Take care, SpacyT
Hi Jim,
Back in Boston after the Thanksgiving break. As usual, it was very nice to see everyone at home. Hard copies of the first few postings of your blog were circulating around family (I believe Gene was responsible for the printing)and everyone was anxious to read them.
The highlight of the trip may have been a Thanksgiving Eve card game at my dad's house. Your dad came over and played some Hold 'Em with Todd, Christy (the big winner), Lori, Meaghan, my dad, and me. Uncharacteristically, your dad imbibed a bit...he didn't drink as much as Lori, of course, but he did sample a few Coronas. At one point he began laughing so hard that the rest of us feared he might suffer from oxygen deficiency. This lasted for several minutes...and popped up intermitently for the rest of the game. It was hilarious. The evening lasted until 1 a.m. and ended with your dad helping Christy and me sneak into Gram's house so we could crash on the spare bed.
As for Thanksgiving, it was the typical whirlwind for Christy and me. We started out with Christy's family dinner at her Uncle Bruce's (farm across from Jerry and Connie's). The food was great as usual, highlighted by turkey that was actually raised on their farm. The topic of debate was the "windmill controversy" that is sweeping the greater Ellenburg area. Representatives from the pro and con windmill camps were present. We then headed to Julie's for the Tourille dinner -- well, dessert, actually. Julie and Darren have done a lot of work to fix up the house we used to know as "Pat and Jim's." It looks great inside and out. The crowd was a bit smaller than usual with Pat and Jim in Florida and the entire Jerry and Connie family out west visiting Lisa's new arrival (Joshua) who was born on Wednesday. Nonetheless, a very good time was had and the pumpkin pie was delicious. We were then off to Rouses Point for our third stop of the day at my mom's place. There we snacked on turkey sandwiches (can you say overeat??) and played cards again into the wee hours.
We missed you at the Tourville dinner and we thought of you and talked about you throughout the day. I suspect this Thanksgiving will be remembered by some as "the one Jim couldn't attend"...here's hoping that it'll be the last.
Jason
Hey whats up Jimmy! Its danny here, i got your blog link from tracy and its good we can keep in touch. You are in our prayers. For thanksgiving I went to my brother's apartment for some good ol fashioned home cookng and a lil store bought empanadas on the side(see tracys post for definition on empanadas;)) yea it was a good time. doggie was acting like a maniac unsurprisingly. and we had the usual family time which is nice since it doesnt happen often. I also spent time with my two little cousins which I barely ever see so that was really great to see them. hang in there man and if you need anything at all dont hesitate to ask. ill keep checking your blog and will post also. later man take care.
-danny
Post a Comment
<< Home