Thanksgiving Memories

[myboynoah]

One keeps coming back to me: my first Thanksgiving as a missionary.

I'd just arrived in Japan and was fairly homesick and probably a rather big ass of a spoiled junior companion. P-day was on Thursday and the zone was getting together for Thanksgiving at the Abeno Church. The ZLs were cooking the turkey (provided by the mission) and the rest of us were bringing the rest of the dinner. I think our apartment had the potoatoes.

That's when I met happyone, and indeed, he was happy, which meant a lot to me during that familiar, yet a bit off, Thanksgiving. His approach and countenance were comforting. Plus, he brought lemon meringue pies, which were great.

Thank you happyone.

[cougjunkie]

I had no clue that you and Happyone knew each other before. I knew about hte JL, SG, UT connection but not the MBN and HO one.

[pellegrino]

One keeps coming back to me: my first Thanksgiving as a missionary.

I'd just arrived in Japan and was fairly homesick and probably a rather big ass of a spoiled junior companion. P-day was on Thursday and the zone was getting together for Thanksgiving at the Abeno Church. The ZLs were cooking the turkey (provided by the mission) and the rest of us were bringing the rest of the dinner. I think our apartment had the potoatoes.

That's when I met happyone, and indeed, he was happy, which meant a lot to me during that familiar, yet a bit off, Thanksgiving. His approach and countenance were comforting. Plus, he brought lemon meringue pies, which were great.

Thank you happyone.

this reminds me of my first thanksgiving in the mission. I had been in Italy all of five months and had just received the assignment to be a trainer. My companion was sullen, very homesick, and all in all not very pleasant to be around. One afternoon while blessing a meal I had just prepared he said "and we're grateful for this Thanksgiving meal and the opportunity we have to serve . . . " He did his best to emphasize Thanksgiving, and did so in an accusatory manner. This guy had passive aggressive down to an art form.

I had completely forgotten, had no clue that it was Thanksgiving. We were the only Americans in the city, at least that I knew of, and of course nobody mentioned it to us and nobody invited us for dinner. He was pissed. In retrospect, I wonder how long he had been planning that prayer. My bet is he had been thinking on it a while, waiting to see if I'd screw it up.

[il Padrino Ute]

this reminds me of my first thanksgiving in the mission. I had been in Italy all of five months and had just received the assignment to be a trainer. My companion was sullen, very homesick, and all in all not very pleasant to be around. One afternoon while blessing a meal I had just prepared he said "and we're grateful for this Thanksgiving meal and the opportunity we have to serve . . . " He did his best to emphasize Thanksgiving, and did so in an accusatory manner. This guy had passive aggressive down to an art form.

I had completely forgotten, had no clue that it was Thanksgiving. We were the only Americans in the city, at least that I knew of, and of course nobody mentioned it to us and nobody invited us for dinner. He was pissed. In retrospect, I wonder how long he had been planning that prayer. My bet is he had been thinking on it a while, waiting to see if I'd screw it up.

Fortunately for me, my first Thanksgiving in Italy was in Palermo where there was a senior couple from Omaha who invited the missionaries to dinner at their place. Rather than turkey, Sor. Venturi cooked about a dozen chickens. The only thing missing really was cranberry sauce.

For the 2nd Thanksgiving, all of the missionaries in Catania as well as the MP and his wife were invited to Sigonella (the US. Naval Base) for dinner with the C. O. who was also the Elders Quorum President at the base. Turkey and all the fixings.

I have great memories of Thanksgiving in Italy because of the folks I served with. To be honest, they were better than any Thanksgiving I had here in the US until my wife and I decided to start having dinner with just our own kids in order to have our own family tradition.

[happyone]

One keeps coming back to me: my first Thanksgiving as a missionary.

I'd just arrived in Japan and was fairly homesick and probably a rather big ass of a spoiled junior companion. P-day was on Thursday and the zone was getting together for Thanksgiving at the Abeno Church. The ZLs were cooking the turkey (provided by the mission) and the rest of us were bringing the rest of the dinner. I think our apartment had the potoatoes.

That's when I met happyone, and indeed, he was happy, which meant a lot to me during that familiar, yet a bit off, Thanksgiving. His approach and countenance were comforting. Plus, he brought lemon meringue pies, which were great.

Thank you happyone.

Don't touch my mustache ( japanese elders will know what it means )

Man that was along time ago wasn't it!

Growing up an Army brat, both Thanksgiving and Christmas memories revolve around having the missionaries and the young GIs over. Dad would always round up anyone in the ward/branch who didn't have a place to go, and have them over to our house for dinner. Sometimes we would have 30/40 people there.

If I can, I'd like to bore ya'll with a story that happened to my family a couple of years ago. When I was made a High Priest, obviously my home teachers changed. The first time the new home teachers came over, he noticed some prints I have of Herzogenaurach hanging in our living room. He recognized them and asked when I'd lived there. It turned out he had been assigned there at the same time we were there. He was working with the Germans so he couldn't remember ever meeting us. I mentioned that we always had the local missionaries over for Thanksgiving and Christmas and we did some reminising about Germany and the visit ended.

He went home and got out his appointment book and it turned out that he ate Thanksgiving diner in 1972 with us.

It is a Small world

[UtahDan]

I remember the family room where we would sit at my folks old house, a fraction of the size of the one they have now, but it had a real fire place that just threw off heat that permeated the room like nothing else can.

I remember that my Dad's uncle and his wife would come and bring those chocolate turtles. We never see them any more, maybe I need to do something about that if I want it to be different. They must be in their 70s.

[myboynoah]

I had no clue that you and Happyone knew each other before. I knew about hte JL, SG, UT connection but not the MBN and HO one.

I didn't realize it until about a month ago. Small world.

[OrangeUte]

When I was 8 we had our usual thanksgiving dinner at my grandma's house. My mom and her two sisters had 13 kids between them, all in attendance along with our parents, my great grandma and grandpa. I noticed another elderly couple sitting in the living room when we arrived but went downstairs and didn't think much of this couple ( playing with my cousins was always a distraction) until dinnertime. This old couple was at the grown ups table and the husband spoke no English and the wife spoke enough.

I learned that they were recent immigrants from Germany. She cleaned houses and my grandma's was one of them. I think they were in their late 60s. Recently, their home had burned down and they lost basically everything that they owned. The old man had a big case with him which was out in the living room and we wondered if it was a suitcase. Dinner was very quiet that night.

After dinner, we went into the living room and the man opened up the case. He pulled put an accordian and harmonica. He put the harmonica around his neck and began playing both instruments at the same time. It was awesome!!!

My grandma told all the grandkids to form a chain, and we have a great family movie of that thanksgiving dancing thru my grandma's house in basically a conga line set to polka music. This was before the days of video cameras - it was a super 8 camera. I love that movie!

This experience taught me that you can find joy even in the worst of times, and occasionally it comes from something as small as a dinner invitation. I also learned that
Accordians are useful for something.

[Art Vandelay]

My all time favorite Thanksgiving memory (followed closely by my 4TD and 3 INT [caught, not thrown, by me] Turkey Bowl performance in 97). I remember my dad laughing so hard when we watched this he had tears in his eyes.

[Omaha 680]

Nebraska vs. Oklahoma. RIP Big Red Rivalry.

[clackamascoug]

I saw that episode of WKRP when it first aired. Funniest TV moment up to that point.

Bailey Quarters >> Nadine Wimmer.

[Blueintheface]

Gobble gobble, CS! Hope you're all surrounded by loved ones!

[mpfunk01]

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[MartyFunkhouser]

Alright so that is bizarre. I posted on Tapatalk and somehow it had created a new profile. Really odd.

[Commando]

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Welcome! Please stop by Ellis Island and properly enter LEGALLY like the rest of us! Also, please post in ENGLISH ONLY.