Stella, the waitress, was worried. Since last week's newspaper story that men steadily lose their mental sharpness from the day they turn 20, the men had sat moping. It's not easy watching the old mind go. They fear a day their brain will turn to thick chunks of wood.
"Snap out of it fellas," Stella said. "It's Thanksgiving. Your kids are coming home. We all have to get old; your minds aren’t gone yet." No use. Mack and Jake, Pete and Bob sat like lumps. Losing accurate recall of the past was no small thing to them. They fiddled with their napkins and drank their coffee extra slow.
"When was Pearl Harbor?" asked Mack, unsure, half expecting to be ignored.
"That was December 7, 1941. Japan attacked at 7:55 a.m.. They sunk 19 ships and killed 2,300 people. We declared war against Japan on December 8. On Dec 11 we declared war on Germany and Italy.
"I know that date because my wife, who was just my girlfriend then, was out with that no good, snake in the grass LeRoy Leggit. Now, every time somebody brings up Pearl Harbor I have to hear about her date with LeRoy."
"When did Joe Lewis fight Max Schmeling? Can you remember that?" asked Mack.
"Joe Lewis TKO'd Schmeling on June 22, 1938 in New York," smiled Bob smugly. "In those days a new Ford V-8 cost $535. A summer suit went for $17.50 and good Kentucky bourbon was $1.59 a fifth. Those were the days"
"That was the depression, you idiot," snapped Pete
Stella liked the sound of this and served up some more coffee. They remembered the day Roosevelt died, April 12, 1945 in Warm Springs, GA. The A-bomb on Hiroshima, August 6, and Japan's surrender August 15, 1945.
They worked their way into the future, sometimes fuzzy about dates, but sharing lives full of emotion and history.
It was Jake who first sensed a feeling of thanksgiving beginning to form. Not for the wars or living through them, but for the friends gathered now. Not for the stories but for ears willing to hear them.
That afternoon Jake bought a 16 lb. turkey and extra drumsticks for the grandkids. He rummaged around looking for the old oyster dressing recipe. Along toward 5:30 p.m. he snuck over to Camelot Bob's house for a quick toast with fine Kentucky whiskey.
"That night he asked his wife if she remembered LeRoy Leggit. "Oh yes," she said. " December 7, Pearl Harbor, we were having such a lovely date until we heard the news."
On Thanksgiving Jake stood and asked to say a few words to the entire assembled family. It was his traditional toast. As he lifted his glass, silence filled the room.
May there be plenty of toilet paper ready today and the line short.
May those who prepared the food, of which I am one, rest while those who ate it clean up.
May parents never spank their children.....too hard.
May children learn to forgive their parents.
May love be a feather and your marriage a feather bed.
May the winter be short and the fires burn long.
May the moon always be full on your darkest nights.
and
May we be Thankful and never forget to remember each other, except for LeRoy Leggit.
Happy Holidays from the Old North Side Cafe
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