A Childhood Memory

As a child, I could never put the holiday and the purpose of giving thanks together. Aunt Dorie would come drunk and weep at the table. No one ever knew why, and no one asked. Grandpa refused to speak to Grandma. My older brother showed his face only at the meal. Otherwise, he was conspicuously absent. In trying to make everything perfect, Mum would always have a migraine, and Dad would be steaming because Mum didn’t feel well. All the while, the Detroit Lions stormed our living room, making it impossible for anyone to do anything except sneak as many hors d’oeuvres as possible.

- Charles Moore