The bird has been purchased, thawed, dressed, stuffed, basted, cooked, carved, and consumed and discarded. Whew! It just doesn't get any better than the Thanksgiving weekend. Everything about it is wonderful. Four days of turkey, stuffing, mash potatoes. gravy, pumpkin pie, apple pie, blueberry pie, surrounded by great family and friends. Sprinkle in some world-class Vermont beer, engaging conversation, and nail-biting college football...hit rewind, then hit repeat...for 4 straight days. Have I left anything out? Probably. But it's all good. I love it all. What am I thankful for? Where do I start? The list could go on forever but what I am most thankful for is having gone through an entire Thanksgiving dinner without any political discussions. The two don't mix. They never did and they never will. I don't want this weekend to end and as long as there are leftovers in the fridge, it's still Thanksgiving as far as I am concerned.
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We had a nice crowd at the Breakfast Club this weekend. This was one of the few times during the year that Bobby closed his deli for the weekend. We ended up going to a bagel store across town which was very good. I purposely did not order a Pork Roll, Egg, and Cheese sandwich out of respect for Bobby. Nobody makes a better Jersey breakfast sandwich. For a temporary fill in, we can go cross-town to the bagel place, but there is only one Corner Cafe & Grill. That is our home field.
It was nice to see Patrick, Zach, Katie & Brennan show up. I always have stimulating conversations with them. Somehow we ended up talking about the Malcolm Gladwell podcast called Revisionist History. The episode I listened to is Episode 07 titled Hallelujah, named after the famous Leonard Cohen song. This podcast is about two unsuspecting songs that when first released, were met with nothing more than a yawn. The first song, The Deportees Club, was written by Elvis Costello and was, by all accounts, forgettable. Years later, it was recorded with a different tempo and tone. Today it is considered one of his best works. The second song, Hallelujah, was written by Leonard Cohen. Cohen took many years to complete this song and it took even longer for anyone to notice what a great song it is. After a series of events and recordings by a few musicians, in particular, a little-known musician named Jeff Buckley, the song started to gain favor in the music world and has gone on to be covered by over 100 artists and has been used in countless TV shows and movies. Here are two songs that seemed to be destined for the discount bin in the discount record store and ended up being heartfelt classics. Could the Breakfast Club be destined for the same? The Leonard Cohen song, Hallelujah, hit me like a bolt of lighting. I had actually heard this song before but certainly not this version, which is considered the de facto standard. If you care to, take a listen...
Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley
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Rutgers Football -
Rutgers 13 Maryland 31
The season record stands at 2 - 10 with a record of 0 - 8 in the Big Ten.
College football was not kind to Rutgers this year. The Big Ten punched us in the gut, hit us over the head, and threw us down a flight of stairs. Maybe one day Rutgers Football can climb out of the discount bin of college football the same way Elvis Costello's Deportee and Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah climbed out of the discount bin of music wasteland and ascended to greatness.
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Tonight I will grab the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers from the fridge and enjoy every last morsel. I will miss you Thanksgiving, I will miss you.
Ed is so right as an adult I learned to love Thanksgiving and all it brings but as a child Thanksgiving was a road stop on way to the paradise called Christmas. As a child Thanksgiving for our extended family was always at my parents house. My mom did most if not all of the cooking. My dad did the carving with his special extra sharp knife. So sharp no one else could touch it except him and my older brother. My role for the day was to keep my uncle Swede in "Schaefer City" ,preferably without my aunt knowing. Our code was whenever he asked me "who was winning the ball game" I was to meander by his chair, pick up his empty can and replace it with a full can of the golden nectar. My aunt Julia was always asking "how many beers you had Swede?" Remember you are driving us home. How could he forget , Julia never learned how to drive. One year she brought a run cake and instead of a beer count she kept telling him "one piece of cake for you Swede you are driving ". I think he had 3. Uncle Swede had only one eye and I never did get the straight story how he lost it. My aunt said in the war. Others said work accident My father told me Julia pulled it out because he spent too much time in Schaefer City.
ReplyDeleteSo here is the burning question. Why is Headdy Topper the best beer in the US if not the world. More than one person has told me this but not knowing a lot about beer I wonder what the attraction is Anyone know a better beer please make s comment. My beer friends would love to try it I'm sure
ReplyDeleteOne last comment. I highly recommend we make getting together with anyone who can make it on the Saturday after thanksgiving to watch college football a tradition from now on. I had s great time with my kids and friends. Next year my wife needs to come she would have loved it
ReplyDeleteJim I love your Saturday after Thanksgiving idea. It was a great time. Count me in.
ReplyDeleteYour uncle Swede seems like a classic.
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