Saturday, November 27, 2010

Thanksgiving Nostalgia

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but it hasn't begun at our house. Old Tom doesn't want to thaw, so it might be tonight or tomorrow when we roast the bird. This year, Bill's daughter invited us over for a delicious meal. We are looking forward, not to another big meal, but LEFTOVERS. I am sure that by mid-week we will be tired of turkey ten ways, but today, we are anticipating those butter whipped mashed potatoes and turkey and dressing ladled with gravy.

I was thinking about a long ago Thanksgiving tradition. When my children were small, and downtown St. Louis was a bustling shopping area, we would pile in the car after the meal; my mom always came along, and we'd head downtown. Everyone would pile out of the car all bundled up and we'd walk a square block stopping to look at the animated characters and working model trains in all of the windows at Famous-Barr(now Macy's) and Stix. It was fantasy land for young and old as we all stood shoulder to shoulder gawking through windows oohing and aahhing. I can visualize my babies young, my mom all giddy to be going along, myself with long hair and head full of dreams.

Downtown is not flourishing in the same sense. There are no animated characters in windows. Times have changed. Now, after Thanksgiving meal, the kids retreat to play video games. I don't know if times were better then, but they were sure simpler.

5 comments:

Sioux Roslawski said...

Going downtown to look at the windows all decorated for the holidays is a vivid memory in my mind as well. They were indeed simpler times...

Chatty Crone said...

So you are having a double turkey day - sounds good. Hope you had a great one. Love, sandie

Susan said...

Awwww, Linda. The scenes in the windows sound much better than video games to me. Isn't it wonderful we can recall old times and treasure the memories? Susan

Linda O'Connell said...

Hi ladies,
Yes, double turkey day. And I wish you all could have seen what Sioux and I have seen in the downtown windows.

Lynn said...

You're lucky, our family never ventured out.