The above memories shared takes me back to one Thanksgiving. It was a year that was particularly hard on everyone. One part of the family wasn't having anything to do with the other part, alliances were being questioned and everyone was finding excuses ah er um 'reasons' not to get together. Well, through a combination of major portions of guilt administered and arm twisting, we gave in and decided to get together. You get the picture. One misspoken word.... So, with much grumbling and teeth gnashing and tongue biting, we set out to make something of the holiday. We finished up the chores and set out to make our feast. We have a quick bread that calls for chestnut meal. To get this meal, you have to roast the chestnuts and grind them up. We got the chestnuts ready for the oven and put them in. Then someone said something and we were off to the races. No arguments or anything, just picking at one another. We forgot about the chestnuts, but they didn't forget about us! In a 'oh, just get it done and quit griping' mood, we had forgotten to pierce the little nuts before we put them in the oven. When all of the heat and pressure started building up inside of their shells,they started going off like little Chinese firecrackers! We were diving behind couches, ducking into other rooms, and running out the doors in a effort to get away! Surely someone was shooting at us! Then, we remembered. I can't say that we all shared a good belly laugh, but by the time we got finished scraping all that chestnut meat off of the oven walls, we were at least joking with each other and proudly showing off where we were 'wounded'!

W.E.