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The Games Begin... Again

My friend Ronit (Israel's contribution to female yummyness) just came by to see if I had a nice Turkey day. She's a veggie and once asked me... "My God! Are you going to put that in your MOUTH?" We were banned from Pizza Hut. Why, yes, I suppose I did. Thanks for asking. A little wierd, but nice. She is about to head out for a serious bout of pre-Xmas shopping. She tells me that this is the official start of the Christmas Rush... that period of time when you are required to spend as much as possible on presents for people that you don't particuarly like so that you will be able to enter into the new year with absolutely no assets. She says that this is traditional. Se says that there was some Indian tribe in New England (was there actually a tribe called the Algonquins?... I often suspect that the lady pulls legs) who used to pile up all of their possessions once a year and burn everything they owned so that they can be "free". My observation is that they weren't free, they were poor. Ronit says "That's the whole point you foolish man! Bob... you poor baby! That's why I feel so sorry for you. You don't sleep with pyjamas!" Then she laughs and tells me that she's going out to the Millenia Mall to shop for PJs with feet in them. Just what every girl needs.

Two or three times a year the Leete family convenes their family cabal and I get invited by Tommy's lovely bride Sandy. She thinks that I need "looking after". I suppose she's right. All of my relatives are dead. My daughter is usually off being a dutiful girlfriend to this week's romantic attachment, and neither of us have ever been the kind of family unit that cooks... so it's Morrisons or Taco Bell or one of those exotic eateries for most celebratory meals. We once went to eat Chinese on Christmas Day and were the only people in the city of Orlando to have glazed duck rather than turkey to ring in the season.

This year's Thanksgiving was the usual batch of foolery at Leete's place. They have a new house out in the bushes in the south end of Osceola County. Beautiful place with an attached grass field to land airplanes. I thought about taking the Velocity down there but I've never tried to land on grass and I'm a coward. Hmmm. It would be fun to just bop down there for a visit any time, but... but... maybe I'll talk to my guy Mel about what it means to put the Velocity down on the yard. He would know. In the meanwhile, I drove down there. Volvo power!

We managed to consume four (yes... 4) turkeys. Two cooked the usual way, 1 deep fried in a pot of boiling peanut oil, and 1 cooked on the grill. All this meat for about 20 people. There was enough food there for the UN to take into central Africa and open up a mission. Oink!

Anyhow, a good time was had by all. About half of them got tiddley from the rare excursions into wine drinking among the younger set. Us old folks were still sitting around the outdoor hot tub at midnight when the younger set began to pack up the dogs and the kids and load the SUVs for the trek north. I had a good time. Hope you did too.

Bob