By Trent Rosser

Well, it's that time of year again. When family is supposed to get together and give thanks for all they have. This year will be a special Thanksgiving. Everyone will have an uninvited guest. COVID-19 has been the guest from hell. Kinda like your crazy uncle who came to visit and will not go home. He just stays on the couch, smelling up the place. So, with the pandemic, how are we supposed to celebrate? We have to wear masks and social distance, so this year will be one to remember.

How are we to do this? Celebrate with friends and family, when it is too dangerous to celebrate with friends and family? I honestly have no clue. One of the things we can do is reminisce of past Thanksgiving that we spent with family. It was just a few years ago that I wrote my first Thanksgiving article. In that article I talked about spending the entire day before Thanksgiving just to clean the house. Then during the meal the next day, our very young grandson grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and chunked them at his mother! I, of course, knew that he would be in trouble so I didn't say anything. Plus it's hard to talk when you're laughing so hard that stuffing is coming out of your nose!

We can remember past Thanksgiving with people that we no longer see or have spoken to in years. For instance, an old friend showed up on another friends Facebook page. She was married to an old friend of mine from San Angelo. I remember spending Thanksgiving day back in the late 90s with them. It was their first Thanksgiving as a married couple and she was from Hawaii. So they had a Hawaiian Thanksgiving. The food and the experience was amazing.

Now, when I was younger, we sometimes didn't have a grand Thanksgiving meal. I remember once going out to IHOP for Thanksgiving. And of course, back in my alcoholic, homeless days, I spent Thanksgiving at the Salvation Army. Sitting with many other people, I never felt so alone. Don't get me wrong, I was thankful for a meal, but I was longing for companionship, friendship, or just someone to talk to. I have the feeling that quite a few people will feel that way this year. All thanks to our uninvited guest. More families will be staying home and not going to spend this Thanksgiving will other friends and relatives.

This pandemic has ruined many family gatherings this year. From birthdays and weddings to holidays like the 4th of July and Labor day, we were unable to celebrate like we have in the past. With limitations on social gatherings, we are losing contact with the rest of the world. Now granted, I do believe that this is a dangerous situation, but without social contact, we could lose more than just family gatherings. I am under the impression (and it's a good possibility that I am wrong), that California has stated now that it is illegal to have more than 6 people at a gathering. Funerals are the exception. At a funeral you can have up to 30 people. So to tell the truth, if I was in California, everyone would be invited to attend the funeral of my pet turkey, pet pig (glazed ham), and the untimely death of the cranberry sauce, green beans, yams and stuffing. Also the premature passing of the chicken’s (deviled) eggs. All of them will be laid out on the table for special viewing.

Another thing to be concerned of, will be the impact this Christmas. Black Friday (usually reserved for the day after Thanksgiving), might actually be tolerable this year. I have spoken about going shopping on Black Friday and being body slammed by a 90 year old woman. This year, my wife informed me that these Black Friday sales will be going all month long so it will not be crazy with all the shoppers packed in the store at the same time. I might actually get out and buy Christmas gifts this year without the worry of being mauled by Granny from the Beverly Hillbillies.

So how are we going to do Christmas? Will we be able to socialize and pass presents to each other? Or will we have to act like pizza delivery, and drop off the gifts on the front porch? Better yet, let's just cancel Christmas all together? It will save us all money not having to buy gifts! You could always do what I plan on doing with the grandson. I am telling him that Santa Claus came down with the COVID-19 and is too sick to deliver all the toys. It doesn't matter really, grandson is just getting coal anyhow.

Some might not want to even celebrate anything this year. After all, to most people, this is one of the worst years in history. People lost jobs, almost impossible to follow up on healthcare, and small businesses are closing down, all due to the evil unwanted guest. We were also struck with tragedy this year when both our beloved dogs along with the son's dog got out of the yard and ended up on I-40. There were no survivors. We are still torn up about it, but we still need to be thankful. We are thankful for the time we did get to spend with them.

So however you decide to celebrate this Thanksgiving and Christmas, whether you are spending it alone with a hungry man TV dinner, or with family and loved ones mourning the sudden loss of your pet turkey. Whichever one you are celebrating, be thankful. After all this year is not quite over with and it could get worse! Hopefully it will not get worse, but instead it will get better. Until then, I have a funeral to plan for my pig, turkey, and many other things that will be laid to rest…. In my belly!!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Rosser Family.