2008 Woodie Awards
"Yougottawanna"
Katelyn Henry
Issue date: 12/4/04 Section: Letter From the Editor
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Ahh, Thanksgiving break: a few days to get away from classes, roommates, activities, and homework, to sit back, relax, and give thanks. A long weekend spent with family, best friends from high school, maybe some football games, lots of turkey, and perhaps extra hours of sleeping in each morning seems invaluable at this point in the semester-on the brink of finals and a surplus of work.
Even away from school, though, a sense of hustle and bustle can take over: helping prepare food all day Wednesday; traveling to an aunt or uncle's house to celebrate the holiday; getting up early on Black Friday to get a jump start on Christmas shopping (see the next page for examples); squeezing in visits with all the friends that have been lost since summer; and the list goes on.
My break was no exception-especially Thanksgiving day. Unlike most Americans, my family doesn't celebrate a traditional turkey dinner all piled around the dining room table; Instead, we all spend the day at the family business-restaurants-since, surprisingly to some, Thanksgiving is one of busiest days of the year.
The task for me: hostess-greeting customers, taking names, seating people, and cashing out checks. It was nothing too invigorating, a fact that soon became planted in my mind, along with a sense of aggravation.
I was working all day on Thanksgiving; my dinner would be at 6:00 p.m. and reheated in the microwave; my boyfriend couldn't get a flight home from school; my shoes were growing more painful with each step; the next few days would be spent starting final papers.... what was there to be thankful for?
A bit exaggerated and out of line? Of course. But at the time it seemed viable.
Then an elderly man approached my podium. Looking up his name on the list, I noticed his reservation was simply for 2 people. As we walked towards their table, the man held his wife's arm, her frail body shuffling slowly, barely able to hold itself. Once seated, they pulled out a small greeting card-the front showing a picture of leaves, pumpkins and a full cornucopia and a large, cursive "Give Thanks"-and made it a centerpiece. Watching from the front door, I later saw the man, dressed in a suit jacket resembling something my grandfather would have worn, walk up to the buffet line, snapping photos of the chafing dishes filled with fixings, the chefs slicing turkey, the decorative pumpkins and gourds on the tables, and so on. Leaving, the couple was sure to mention how lovely everything was and offer their thanks for a nice meal.
Even away from school, though, a sense of hustle and bustle can take over: helping prepare food all day Wednesday; traveling to an aunt or uncle's house to celebrate the holiday; getting up early on Black Friday to get a jump start on Christmas shopping (see the next page for examples); squeezing in visits with all the friends that have been lost since summer; and the list goes on.
My break was no exception-especially Thanksgiving day. Unlike most Americans, my family doesn't celebrate a traditional turkey dinner all piled around the dining room table; Instead, we all spend the day at the family business-restaurants-since, surprisingly to some, Thanksgiving is one of busiest days of the year.
The task for me: hostess-greeting customers, taking names, seating people, and cashing out checks. It was nothing too invigorating, a fact that soon became planted in my mind, along with a sense of aggravation.
I was working all day on Thanksgiving; my dinner would be at 6:00 p.m. and reheated in the microwave; my boyfriend couldn't get a flight home from school; my shoes were growing more painful with each step; the next few days would be spent starting final papers.... what was there to be thankful for?
A bit exaggerated and out of line? Of course. But at the time it seemed viable.
Then an elderly man approached my podium. Looking up his name on the list, I noticed his reservation was simply for 2 people. As we walked towards their table, the man held his wife's arm, her frail body shuffling slowly, barely able to hold itself. Once seated, they pulled out a small greeting card-the front showing a picture of leaves, pumpkins and a full cornucopia and a large, cursive "Give Thanks"-and made it a centerpiece. Watching from the front door, I later saw the man, dressed in a suit jacket resembling something my grandfather would have worn, walk up to the buffet line, snapping photos of the chafing dishes filled with fixings, the chefs slicing turkey, the decorative pumpkins and gourds on the tables, and so on. Leaving, the couple was sure to mention how lovely everything was and offer their thanks for a nice meal.