Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Wistful Wednesday: The Twins

My Uncle and Aunt are twins and they were born 60 years ago this week.  I am just two months older than them.  When they were born..there were three babies in the house..my Mother was staying with her parents while my Dad was in Korea.  Can you imagine the cloth diapers the three of us went through?

Karen and Kenneth #1 (2)

This is my Aunt Karen and my Uncle Kenny.   Karen was very spoiled and often got me and Kenny into trouble.  She used to bawl even before we thought about doing bad stuff to her..she was a brat.  Kenny was a fun kid..and remains a very good friend..even though we don’t see him very often. He is one of my favorite people.

It was with these two that I spent almost every Thanksgiving Day from the time I could remember until I was married.  Grandma would spend the entire week preparing the feast and the house would be filled with Aunts and Uncles and babies..lots of babies over the years…and lots of dishes too.  The men would be in the dining room and spill over into the living room and all the women and children would be in the kitchen.  It would be a long day..I always wanted to be home by the time The Wizard of Oz came on TV..remember when it was telecast only on Thanksgiving evening..or sometimes Christmas Day in the evening?   It only came on once a year..there were no reruns.  Sometimes Kenny and Karen and I would all be sitting right in front of the TV in the living room watching the magic unfold..and then my parents would say “Come on..it is time to go home.”  So I would miss 25 minutes and I would hope all the way home that the commercials were very very long.

The Wizard of Oz, stuffing with apples and raisins, dark turkey meat and pumpkin pie with real whipped cream….just a few memories of Thanksgiving so long ago:)

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18 comments:

Lanny said...

I had quite a few friends that had and aunt or uncle the same age or younger than them.

Funny the things that stick in our heads from childhood. I do remember Wizard of Oz being on TV on one of the holidays, now that you mention it.

We always (or nearly so) had storms on Thanksgiving, that was our recurrent excitement. But not a lot of relatives all the time, and not the same ones year after year. There were six kids in my family and with a grandma and maybe the priest or two, we had a very full table already so big Thanksgivings weren't really missed. But I often wonder what it would have been like to have had lots of extended family.

DJan said...

Our Thanksgivings growing up were similar, but I don't remember watching TV back then. It wasn't until I was older that it became a big part of our lives. I do remember our old radio, however, and listening to Baby Snooks and The Shadow.

rkbsnana said...

Such similar memories. I have uncles and aunts my age too. How special Wizard of Oz was when you only got to see it once. I never got to see Oz in color though since we didn't have color TV until after I married.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

I do, I do remember the might great Oz only showin' on Thanksgiving. My dad would load us up and go to a nearby town that turned it's Christmas lights on Thanksgiving evenin' so I always miss some of Dorothy's adventures. {{{SIGH}}}

Dad would always threaten to turn of the tube anyway when I would get so upset. Oh how I lost it when Dorothy saw her aunt and unk in that crystal ball!

God bless and have a wonderful time tomorrow. :o)

Muffy's Marks said...

I am wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving, and wonderful memories to boot!!

Laura said...

The holidays were also such a big doings when I was growing up too. Then the family got too big and branches split off to do their own thing. Now, it seems so small and casual and I miss the big celebration.

LindaG said...

I remember the first time they decided to show it some other time than Thanksgiving. Really kind of sad.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ellen said...

Oh I remember the once a year Wizard of Oz too. I'm 7 months younger than my nephew and a year older than my niece. We grew up together. People always thought we were cousins because we were the same age. Happy Thanksgiving.

EBet said...

Those sound like some good memories to have!

Intense Guy said...

Thanksgiving at "grandma's" is one of my favorite-most memories too!!

troutbirder said...

Good memories for sure. We often spent the major holidays, as well, at my grandmas house in St. Paul. All the cousins were there. What fun! Happy holiday to you and yours. :)

Rita said...

We always went to my grandparents for Thanksgiving. They were of the "seen and not heard" variety, so we brought books, colorbooks & crayons, cards, board games...and they had on old two story house where we could lay on the floor upstairs and listen to the grown-ups talk through the metal grate on the floor. They never said anything interesting...only the rare swear word when they played cards after dinner.

They had an old upright console TV with a tiny screen on the top. Oddly, I don't remember watching the yearly Wizard of Oz there, but I do remember waiting for it to start and watching it at home...from start to finish and getting all verklempt when she called into the crystal ball...Auntie Em! Auntie Em! Maybe we used to celebrate Thanksgiving not on Thanksgiving Day at my grandparents? It was a long drive and my dad had to work the next day. Now you have me wondering. I'll have to ask. :)

Have a stupendous Thanksgiving, Connie!! :):)

Country Gal said...

What lovely memories and photo ! Hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Anonymous said...

Cute picture and your memories are similar to mine. I had a brat cousin, too!

Here's hoping this Thanksgiving is lots of fun!

Judy said...

I was scared of the dark woods, monkeys, witch...scarey film...

Still see most of the same people with whom we've always had Thanksgiving...added a few here and there...lost a few here and there...

Lots of memories...

Red said...

You describe our family celebrations exactly in those days. All the real stuff.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

L. D. said...

Having the twins the same age of you is unusual but not uncommon. I just marvel at it though when I hear about it. My son's friend was and Uncle to a child that was near his age and my first cousin went through high school and played sports with his Uncle. Interesting blog that made me think of my grandmothers dinners down on the old farm, many years ago.

Pamela said...

I don't remember the WIZard of Oz being on TG. Maybe we just didn't turn it on.

I hated stuffing. We never had it with raisins or apples. Just onions and celery. By the time I came along I think my mom was tired of chopping vegetables and just kind of wacked at them with her knife.

I like it okay now -- but prefer cornbread stuffing.

We did have REAL whipped cream from our cow, though. And lots of heavy gravy for the home grown mashed spuds. And they were lumpy, too.