Every Thanksgiving, the entire Wilcox family gathered for a family reunion at Aunt Jean and Uncle Ralphs mountain cabin. Some of the family brought salads, some brought home made breads. There were tons and tons of deserts. Uncle Joe always brought his old fashion Ice cream maker. It wasn't one of those electric ones. This one had to be hand churned. Aunt Jean would bake a turkey and a ham in the wood stove. The aromas were fantastic. There was no inside plumbing for a bathroom. The outhouse was at the end of a tree shaded path, almost a fourth of a mile from the cabin. The cabin itself, had one small bedroom, and an all purpose room where the living room and kitchen were combined. Tables were set up and chairs brought in. It was very crowded. About 30 people gathered for this event, all were related. Though it was cold outside, sometimes it snowed, sometimes it didn't, it was very warm in the cabin with the wood stove going and so many people in such a small space.

Outside, children would be playing ball, or climbing trees. Inside, all the adults would be talking at once, making for a loud din. The aunts would be around the small sink or the stove, preparing food. The men would be sitting in the available chairs, talking about the things that men talked about. And always, there would be one or two children, ill with flu bug, spreading germs to everyone else.

Georgie hated the crowd and the noise. He would go off by himself, hiking in the woods, wishing he was home. He was a loner. Rarely did he play with his cousins or siblings. But he did enjoy the solitude of the forest. And he liked to pretend he was a long ago hunter, living in the days of yore. This Thanksgiving, Georgie was in for a surprise. While he was hiking, he heard a noise in the shrubs. Being a normal ten year old boy, he went to investigate. Under thick, prickly shrubbery, he discovered a nest. Something scurried away and he wasn't able to see what it was. But the nest held all sorts of interesting things. There was some tinfoil from a gum wrapper, Shiny rocks of all colors, a toy metal car, a broken watch band, and what looked to be a diamond ring. Of course he knew it wasn't a real diamond here in the woods, but just the same, he found it interesting. So he gathered up the metal car, the watch band, some of the prettier of the rocks, and the ring. He put them all in his pocket.

It was just about time for the meal to be ready. His empty stomache let him know this. So he headed back to the cabin. When his mother saw how dirty his jeans, his face, and his hands were, she grabbed a wet rag and scrubbed his hands and face. Nothing could be done about the jeans, other than to scold him. Then everyone sat down to eat. As usual, someone had piled his paper plate with much too much food. He ate until he was full. He listened to a few of the adults tell him that there were starving children in less fortunate countries and that he shouldn't waste food. He asked to be excused from the table and was granted the request.

Later when everyone was sitting around talking, he pulled out his treasures. First he pulled out the rocks. Then he pulled out the broken watch band. When he pulled out the little toy metal car, cousin Petey grabbed it and ran off with it. But then he pulled out the ring, showing it around. Aunt Jean screeched and took it from his hand. "Where did you find this Georgie?" He told her. "Oh my!" She exclaimed. "This is my wedding ring. I lost it last August when we came up here for a week. I thought it was gone forever." With that, she hugged him and gave him a big kiss. Georgie was so embarrassed.

The adults cleaned up the cabin and cars started leaving. Georgie got into the back seat of his parents car and they were just about to leave. Aunt Jean raced out of the cabin with a huge basket filled with goodies. "This is for Georgie. I am so thankful that he found my ring." As they drove towards home, and it was a two hour drive, Georgie, looked through the basket. It was filled with all the left over cookies, pies, cakes, and candies, that people had brought. And inside, was an envelope.

He opened the envelope and found that Aunt Jean had given him a $20 bill for a reward. He had all sorts of plans on how to spend it. But of course, when the banks opened the next day, his mother made him put it into his college fund. But at least he had plenty of goodies to eat that weekend. It was just too bad he had to share it all with his sister.

© By Sharon (Sunyskys1943@aol.com)

 

 

Watch these pages for other poems by Sharon. In the meantime, click the links below for poems and stories by our other authors.

Momma Says
A Cozy Nook (By 9 authors)
The Birthmark
Come Thanksgiving
The Thanksgiving Goose
With Thee Still
Autumn Harvest (11 authors)
The New Thanksgiving



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