A Favorite Memory of Mine

In 2002, I was invited to a different sort of Thanksgiving dinner. It was hosted by some guy friends of mine. There were four of them who shared an apartment and they decided to throw a Thanksgiving dinner/party for all of their friends. Most of them were still in college or just out of college and they wanted to have a dinner together before everyone went home for the holiday weekend.

I only knew these guys casually at that time (I worked with one of them) so I didn’t know what to expect. I had been to a party at their place before and so my initial thought was that it would be a Charlie Brown type Thanksgiving with popcorn, beer and toast. And the only turkey I expected was Wild Turkey. Since I was already out of college and three years into the work force, I felt certain that the immature girls who hung around with these guys couldn't possibly cook anything. I was told to bring dessert so I baked an espresso chocolate cake with white chocolate glaze.

As soon as I entered the apartment, I knew I had been dead wrong. The skinny “immature” girls were whipping up casseroles and baking rolls. A couple of the guys were frying turkeys out on the deck. There was so much food the counter wouldn’t hold it all. They ran out of serving bowls so everyone had to dish up some mac and cheese so that the mac and cheese bowl could be washed and used to mash the potatoes. Almost fifty people were crammed into the apartment. We sat on the floor, the tables, the deck, the stairs, anywhere and everywhere we could find a spot. An international student who worked with us showed up and was overwhelmed by the amount of food and people and immediately retreated to the front stoop with a full plate.

After dinner, a couple of the guys who were musically inclined played the guitar and we all sang along with them. The Wild Turkey came out. Everyone had a good time.
I emailed one of the guys today and asked if he remembered. And of course, he did. It’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving memories. I barely knew these people-some of them I’d never met-yet they welcomed me in like family. And I was thankful.