BY L. BONNIE BURKE
It was a weird Thanksgiving — the one of 1984.
My older sister, Luci, with her husband, Alex, were hosting the family gathering in their Spinnaker condominium, located about a half-mile from my apartment in Edmonds.
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L. Bonnie Burke |
Lonely for my beloved Clint, who died October 1982, I gratefully accept their invitation.
The family included Luci’s son, Dick Dewey, and his wife, Susan. Their son, Rich, 22, was a senior at the University of California at Los Angeles, and their daughter, Meagan, 18, a freshman at Princeton University, so they couldn’t be there.
The family also included Alex’s son, Sandy, his wife, Tina, and their daughters, Ceci, 9, and Beth, 6, who live in Federal Way.
Alex’s granddaughter, Susan, from Valleyford, southeast of Spokane, also would join us.
High winds awakened me during the early morning hours of that Thanksgiving Day. The radio reported electrical power outages in many homes throughout our area.
About 10:30 a.m., Alex called, asking, "Is your power on, Lily? Ours went out about 20 minutes ago, shortly after we put the turkey in the oven."
"It’s on here so far, Alex," I said. "Tell you what. I’ll drive over there, and we’ll bring the turkey here to continue roasting."
Returning from taking Alex home, the wind, strong and forceful, threw me against my classic Mustang.
"How long will the power last?" I wonder, almost fearful of driving.
My kitchen measures about 3 by 6 feet, pretty small for more than a couple of bodies at one time. In fact, my entire apartment, including my bedroom and bathroom, measures 550 square feet.
So there’s not a lot of room, especially for this big group. But I did have power.
Family soon began arriving, bringing pumpkin and mince pies, bright orange and green Jell-O salads, tossed green salad and homemade cranberry-orange relish.
My apple-pecan stuffing was cooking inside the bird for lack of space in my oven.
My tiny dining-room table, laden with salads, pie, rolls, pickles, butter, dishes, silverware and napkins, left no space for dining.
We set up TV trays throughout the dining-living room, spilling out onto my enclosed lanai.
As my nephew, Dick, mashed potatoes, my sensitive smoke alarm suddenly began buzzing. Sandy, a smoker (but not in my home), sat directly underneath. He laughingly protested, "I’m not even thinking about it!"
Bowing our heads to thank God for being together, with a delicious holiday dinner to share, this cozy, weird smoke-free day became a treasured memory. It was crowded, but it didn’t seem that way because it was family.
L. Bonnie Burke, 82, is from Spokane, but she has lived in the Edmonds area for 20 years. In 1994 she fulfilled a lifelong dream by enrolling in an Edmonds Community College creative writing class at Edmonds South County Senior Center. She’s since written dozens of memoirs, a number of which have been published.
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