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on how it turned out. My dad got here Wednesday afternoon. We had dinner that night at a nice Greek restaurant, then went to the Community Thanksgiving Service, which was at the only African American church in town.
The service was good--a fine sermon by a newly-ordained ELCA pastor, really meaningful pastoral prayer by a UMC pastor, and a great welcome by the home congregation. As president of the ministerial association, I did kind of "mc-ish" work--making sure people knew when to go to the lectern, etc. The pastor of the host church doesn't get to ministerial association meetings much, because he has to hold down another job, as a counselor at a corrections half-way house. His congregation was so grateful to be asked to host that they were really welcoming. It was a good evening.
Then we came home, lit a fire, enjoyed warm cider, and watched with sadness as events unfolded in Mumbai.
Yesterday we slept in. Then took the beagle for a walk on the Riverwalk. We did go to dinner at the truck stop, but it was better than I expected. They did have a special Thanksgiving menu. I was pondering what to order, and mentioned to the waitress that I was stuck because I'm vegetarian. She said "I'll make up a veggie plate. It'll be good. Not vegan, but veggie...and Thanksgiving-y, too." And it was. Mashed potatoes, steamed green beans and zucchini, wild rice, cranberry sauce, banana nut bread, and dressing. She said the dressing was not cooked in the turkey, and not made with broth. She added "I can't guarantee it has no chicken or turkey flavoring, but it's not much." So, I ate it. I was amazed that she was so "in touch". I asked her about it, and she said her daughter is vegan, so she understands these things. My dad had a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and we both had apple pie for dessert.
Then we went to see "Australia" last night. I liked it. I gave the critters their traditional Thanksgiving meals, too. Canned Pro-plan for Shamu and Sophia, the canned version of Leon's prescription food, and canned vegetarian dog food for the beagle. They usually get dry, so this was a treat for them all. Then we watched some more coverage of the tragedy in Mumbai.
My dad left after we had lunch at Cracker Barrel. So, it turned out to be a nice holiday, though I wish my dad had stayed longer.
Hope you all had a great day!
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