On Thursday, Doris and Rob flew north very early in the morning to join family. The Wilsons went to Garth’s folks house. My parents in Ohio went to dinner with a friend at a local restaurant. I fixed an apple pancake, on a personal quest for one like the one served at a greasy spoon I frequented in Illinois. It made for a simple, special breakfast that morning, while we watched part of the Macy’s parade on TV.
Glen and I had several invitations to join other families, but we chose to go to St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Uptown Whittier to help serve dinner to the neighborhood. We worked from 11:30 to 2:20 and saw such a variety of guests, including our church friend, Mark. Many were dressed so nicely and so happy to get a meal and friendly company. Many seemed needy in simple and complex ways. A wide range of people -- homeless, poor, lonely, addicted, broken, and/or mentally ill -- and all were warmly welcomed in the Lord’s name. Some had just gotten off work, probably minimum wage jobs, and wanted to provide a nice meal for their families. We filled “to go” boxes with more dinners, and some guests really stocked up on those. It was all interesting, touching, and meaningful to us. It felt important to participate, sharing with others, when we are so blessed.
Driving home, we passed Whittier Village Theaters at about 2:25 and spontaneously stopped in to attend the 2:30 showing of “Walk the Line,” a story of Johnny Cash. I knew Glen wanted to see this, and I enjoyed it as well. Then we rushed to Black Angus for our traditional turkey dinner. The restaurant was crowded and it was fun to be with lots of families celebrating around us, and to have our dinner prepared and brought to us, because we were tired. We came home and relaxed with the dogs. It was a different Thanksgiving, yet still very meaningful, interesting, and fun. Fun to be together and grateful to the Lord for everything. We did think fondly of you all...loved ones in other settings that day.
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