Gratitude

This branch of the Paynter family managed to gather today in Kansas City, and bask in the radiant warmth of each other’s company. I’m grateful for that. I’m only sorry that the meal didn’t measure up to the occasion. This is, I think, the first Thanksgiving that I’ve eaten at a restaurant rather than in someone’s home. At least it’s the only one I recall. We ate at the Capital Grille on the Plaza and I influenced everyone to order the “traditional Thanksgiving dinner.” It wasn’t the brussels sprouts that killed it for me. It was the gravy — that and the sense I had that the turkey was shipped in from a processing plant, injected with water and cooked after carving. Hard lesson learned is don’t order turkey at a steak house.

I’m old enough, perhaps wise enough, not to let a bad menu choice spoil an otherwise wonderful occasion. I’m sure everyone else felt the same way.