Seems like yesterday

Preparations for Thanksgiving

Would begin weeks earlier

Penciled notes scribbled

Reminding of actions needed

To ensure the perfect feast

Celery, golden raisins, onions, a frozen turkey

Ah yes a frozen turkey which by itself adds to the drama

As then experts would weigh in as to the proper time to begin thawing

Many years ago, too many to remember

My involvement in the Thanksgiving dinner was to buy the ingredients

Really didn’t quite understand nor grasp that women

We’re doing most of the work

But after thirty years the time seemed right to

Begin an apprenticeship as a sous chef

Promoted myself from the buyer of ingredients

But the new position was taxing on my ego

Quickly learned, I had no culinary skills whatsoever

Peeling onion, cutting, celery, drying bread we’re all a new skill set for me

Yes, but over time, gradually, my performance seemed to improve, if only to myself

After a number of years of apprenticeship, I was promoted

I was given the position of preparing the food the morning of the feast

This was a position with much more responsibility

It wasn’t until years later that I found out from a “whisper”

That my job performance was not always perfect

That occasionally I had not sliced the onions thin enough nor maybe dried out the bread enough

That news was, of course, quite disconcerting to my mental state

It seems as if the ego must be left at the kitchen door

As the taste of the meal takes precedence

Just glad I had a place at the table

FXC frankxcameron.com Copyright 11/26/2022