Pie Day: For years at the Baur House,
the day before Thanksgiving has been Pie Day. About 20 years ago we
and our friends at Albany Civic Theater in Oregon held the theater
orphan Thanksgiving party. We actually hosted it about five years in
a row.
We made two turkeys and an ocean of
mashed potatoes, and everyone brought whatever it was that it
wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it. You'd be surprised at what some
people thought was necessary.
We had as many as 30 people show up. It
was an amazing time.
And the day before Thanksgiving, Tori
made pies. Lots of 'em. One year she made 18 pies. Pumpkin. Apple.
Pecan (several of those three.) Chocolate. Cherry (my favorite) mince
pie (her mother's favorite.) Lots and lots of pie.
A lot of it got eaten that day. A lot
more got eaten in the next few days. There may be better breakfasts
than leftover cherry or apple pie, but not many.
We still make the pies every year, but
not nearly so many of course. Tonight on the counter there are
pumpkin, apple, and cherry pies, with the pecan yet to be made. Of
course, there's not 30 people coming over. There's the four of us,
plus our friend Alan, and maybe Cam and his girlfriend. We haven't
heard back from them yet.
So even with the reduced numbers,
there's plenty of pie to go around. There's also cupcakes for
tonight, because we still celebrate Alex's birthday.
Thanksgiving. It's all about friends
and family. And pie. Lots of pie.
–––
I was canvassing for the senate runoff
last weekend. They don't just send you out knocking doors. They give
you a list of names and addresses in a given neighborhood, the names
of people likely to vote for your candidate. The idea is to get out
your vote and hope the other side stays home.
I approached a house where a small boy
and his father were bouncing a basketball back and forth in the
driveway. The man had short hair and a scowl. His neck was actually
red. He saw me approach and asked who I was.
"I'm John, I'm a volunteer with
the Louisiana Democratic Party and ..."
"We're all Republicans here. You
keep on walkin'," he said. Really, it was as menacing as it sounds.
I glanced at my list, which showed a
woman lived there, who was listed as the same age as this redneck
appeared to be, and she was clearly listed as a Democrat. She had apparently registered Democrat and not let her husband know she had done so. I
considered raising the issue, just to show I had the right house, then thought better of it. Her voter
registration was her business, and I saw no point in spilling the
beans and creating what I was sure would be an ugly squabble.
"OK," I said, "have a
nice day."
"We never vote for no Democrats,"
he added, possibly for his son's sake, as I walked on.
–––
Lesson Learned: Never buy your coffee
beans at a clothing store. You wouldn't think that would be necessary
to mention, but every now and then ...
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