Steve Christilaw: Thanksgiving dinner-table topics a cherished tradition
While I love the array of food that comes with Thanksgiving and spend a crazy amount of time planning which recipes to use, the thing that brings the most joy are the conversations that come whenever life brings together friends and family over food and drink.
And it never hurts to be prepared for some of the inevitable topics that will come up.
As a public service, I’ll share the Top 10 questions that will inevitably come up at my family table today:
1. “Hey! You got power?”
It’s Spokane. For the past week and a half this is the No. 1 question we’ve all been asked. It’s how we bond. Soon it will change to “Hey! You got snow?”
At my house the lack of power has forced Thanksgiving to take a volume out of Hemingway’s library; we’re A Moveable Feast. It is my sincerest hope that, by the time the little button pops out on the Butterball, the answer to that question for us all will be a resounding “Yes!”
2. “Is it going to snow for the Apple Cup?”
This has been an annual question around our Thanksgiving table now for decades. It dates back to the glory days of the Washington State-Washington rivalry when the Cougars discovered that the late Don James and his Huskies didn’t like the snow. They didn’t like playing in it (all references to the Iditarod aside), and they certainly didn’t like driving in it.
Cougars and Cougar sympathizers dominate around our table, so this should be a happy topic of conversation and will likely come up early on. Enjoy it, Cougar Nation. It’s been a while since WSU spent Thanksgiving as a ranked team.
For those of you with Huskies at the table, please be kind. Don’t overdo the gloating. And you can always remind them that if the bowl committees get really desperate, they just might invite a five-win team! Just try not to snicker when you say that.
3. “What did you put in this cranberry sauce?”
I don’t believe in proprietary recipes when it comes to family. My secret ingredient for sweet potatoes? A dollop of real maple syrup. For the cranberry sauce? I cut back on the sugar and replace it with frozen, concentrated orange juice. I dice some Granny Smith apple in with the cranberries and, once it gets nice and saucy I add the secret ingredients: an apple brandy called Calvados and a cinnamon stick. The cinnamon is obvious, but the brandy adds that little something you like but can’t quite put your finger on.
4. “When exactly did you become a vegetarian?”
In our family it’s my granddaughter who has sworn off meat, but these days just about every family has one. I made some special curried pumpkin soup for ours.
5. “What happened to the Mariners/Seahawks?”
Write about sports and you get questions like this. My answers? “I don’t know” and “I don’t know.” Subtopics that will follow include “I thought Boog Powell owned a barbecue joint in Baltimore?” (The Mariners acquired a different Boog Powell), and “Who’s Thomas Rawls?” (two responses: “Did you see the Cincinnati game?” and “He’s a Chippewa.”).
6. “What is (fill in the blank) eating?”
Anyone with small children or grandchildren know what this question is all about.
7. “What do you mean that wasn’t a catch?”
NFL fans know what this question is all about and know already that there is no reasoned, logical answer to it. It’s rhetorical.
8. “Is Ken Griffey Jr. going into the Hall of Fame?”
Of course he is. But he won’t be a unanimous selection. No one has been, including Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. But The Kid will get in and we will be joyful and hope that Edgar Martinez will join him.
9. “How about those Zags!”
In my family you make a mistake if you assume this question is about Mark Few and the Gonzaga men. Oh, we follow the Zags and always seem to find our way to a television when a game is on, but we reserve our real fandom for the GU women’s team.
Season tickets are an annual expense dating back to before the glory days of Courtney Vandersloot.
In my family, we like our basketball as a team game. No chest pounding, no isolation plays and no trash talk. The GU women beat you with five players and a solid bench, not a great player or two and a supporting cast. And if you want to beat the Bulldogs, you’d better do the same.
10. “What are you thankful for this year?”
This one is a little bittersweet for me this year. Two of the coaches I’ve enjoyed working with most have stepped down from their respective posts since the high school football season ended. Rick Giampietri resigned after an almost five-decade career as a coach. And Rob Bartlett at University stepped down after being promoted to vice-principal.
These were the kinds of coaches you want your kids and grandkids to play for. And the sidelines will be a little less fun without them walking it.
Steve Christilaw can be reached at steve. christilaw@gmail.com.