Hey, Pete: We had a wonderful thanksgiving. To be specific, the traffic driving down to Queens was light, so we made it in just less than an hour and forty five minutes. Same on the way back. My son and daughter-in-law came down later and it took them a few minutes short of forever to get there from closer than we are. I'm not much of a big crowd type, and there close to forty people in my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's small house. I really enjoy all the family, and I appreciate having them nearby as my side of our family are more than a thousand miles away and I only get to see them every two years, if that. But, I'm more of a kitchen table type. I enjoy conversations among a small number of people, and that's usually not possible in a large gathering. This Thanksgiving was different. One of my favorite human beings on earth is my brother-in-law Everett and he came early. Everett, Ari (short for Ariezelma) and I had a long discussion about the good things about getting old. Ari almost died a year ago from heart problems and is half the size she used to be, but she is full of life to the point of overflowing all over everyone. Everett has more health problems than he can count on both hands and feet, but both of them are enjoying life thoroughly. We ended up talking about all the things you CAN do when you get old. That's not the usual conversation for old folks. They want to sit around exchanging war stories about all their operations. Later in the day, those conversations raged for about an hour, and I managed to slip away. Everett is my most enthusiastic reader, and he is one of the funiest, most joyful people I've ever met. He calls me every couple of weeks, wanting more to read. He's sold fifteen copies of my book to other residents of the senior center in Brooklyn where he lives, and can hardly wait until I finish my next book. I don't write like that. I have to live it, and then I write it. Living takes time. So, I brought him every scrap of writing I've done in the last couple of months... one page stories, unfinished chapters, outlines and quotes. He said he'd call me on Monday and ask when I was going to send him more stuff.

And that's the way the day went for me. I got into a long, respectful discussion about the Muslim faith with Ari and Everett, and when my son-in-law Pasha arrived, I got him aside and told him that I'd clarified the difference between Sunnis and Shiites and how different the two branches of Islam are and he said, "You've only been in our family a few years and you know more about Islam than any of the rest of the family." Not quite true, because my daughter-in-law who is a Baptist Minister was a Muslim for about ten years. But, I probably know more than anyone else in the family.

I spent some time with my brother-in-law's son-in-law talking about my book, and some of the stories I've been writing for the new one, and it opened up another long, interesting conversation. It was as if I was creating a kitchen table all day, moving from one part of the house to another.

And then there was the food. Ruth made a list of the dishes and there were over 30. There was just about every kind of soul food imaginable and a wide variety of deserts. I was irritatingly good, eating only a small meal and not having any desert. But, I was happy and I didn't have to hide the scale under the bed the following morning.

Most of all, everyone was in joyful spirits and expressed how thankful they were for all the blessings in out lives. They're good people, and I am thankful for each and every one of them.

Kitchen tables are where you find them. Once in awhile they're in kitchens.

Jerry