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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year!  It is time for family and good food, at least for the Smith family.  Mama Reba would fix collard greens; boiled potatoes, turkey and dressings (plain and oyster dressing). She taught her three daughters well, as they can do what she can do cooking wise.  Mrs. Reba stopped cooking and the girls took it over from her but she still can eat her share. We are going to Kim’s this year and my Tracey and Wendy will assist her with the cooking.  The men will sit around and discuss sports while the ladies cook and afterwards, will lie down and watch NFL game and probably fall asleep.  So full after the lunch those ladies will prepare for us!

It is also a time of the year that you can see any sport on television or hunt and fish if you do not like college or NFL games on TV. My dad would hunt ducks or go to Mattamuskeet and goose hunt because it was the only time he was free to do so. Some like to fish that day because the trout are biting and the drums are running. It was my favorite time as a boy because we had no school the next day. Back then, we had three days free for Thanksgiving and there were some good sandlot football games at either Kugler Field or the cemetery.  The telephone lines stayed busy as we were getting a game up and deciding where to play.  Neighborhood fields were full and they had plenty of action on them.  Tomp and Bill Litchfield’s was our choice to play football and we tried to play like our heroes.  There were plenty of heroes back then and we all tried our best to be just like them.  They never joined us because they were afraid to get hurt during the high school basketball season.

The other reason I loved Thanksgiving as a young boy was because it was only three weeks ‘til we got out for Christmas.  That was a longer holiday than Thanksgiving and we got two weeks out of school.  That meant we could play sports for two weeks and the sport in season was basketball.  The big boys would play in the gym at the high school and we would tag along shoot on the side goals until we got older.

We all have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! For my wife, children, grandchildren and all of my family, I certainly am thankful for their health and what they all mean to me. They are in my prayers for a very safe and thankful Thanksgiving!  You dear readers, I wish a very happy and safe Thanksgiving to you and yours!  Please be careful!!

They were the best of times with the best of friends and in the best of places, Washington, N.C! The Original Washington!

Harold, Jr.