Aim is a Nut

Every year I eat myself silly. Turkey, mashed potatoes and of course, pie. Indulging on delicious food has always been a part of my Thanksgiving. Add to that a few days off work, the crisp fall air and you've got some of my favorite things about the holiday. But food and a lazy weekend weren't always the highlights.

My sister and I used to lounge around in our pajamas watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV. We'd try to guess which big balloon would be the next to come down Broadway and drool over the new toys advertised for Christmas. In late morning, we'd transition to a more serious matter: The Minneapolis Star Tribune's "Oh You Turkey!" coloring contest. A full page of the newspaper was dedicated to a giant drawing of a turkey (complete with pilgrim hat) and it was our mission to make every feather gloriously different and beautiful.

By afternoon, we'd head to my grandma's townhouse where we'd be greeted by my cousins, aunts and uncles. Dinner was served up buffet style in the kitchen. Us kids would eat at a card table while the adults gathered around the big table.

Silver, china and crystal all came out of grandma's cabinets on Thanksgiving, as did the candle figurines of a pilgrim boy and girl. Dressed in brown with the traditional hats and coy smiles, each wax figure stood about 5 inches tall. And they were never lit (I suppose a melting pilgrim could be a disturbing sight to small children). On the bottom of each was a circular piece of cardboard. One was unadorned. The other had the ballpoint pen inscription, "Aim is a nut."

The "Aim is a nut" proclamation is one of my favorite memories of Thanksgiving. Before I was born, the phrase was impulsively penned by my uncle as a joke on my aunt Aimee. From year to year we'd all forget about it until me or one of my cousins picked up the pilgrim gal to play with after dinner. Turning over the candle, the secret message was revealed again, and again, and again.

I'm guessing this is NOT aunt Aimee's favorite Thanksgiving memory.