Hey Reader,

You never know what is going to happen.

Sometimes it’s helpful.

40 years ago this Thanksgiving was such a time.

I apologized to Aunt Betty, but I was not going to be with her, Uncle Don and cousin Tom for Thanksgiving in Chicago. I did not tell her why.

The only one that I told was my sister.

All of the airlines were having “fare wars” as travel picked up following a newly robust US economy. Before the middle 80s, there wasn’t the same frequency of air travel that we take for granted today.

United offered roundtrip air fare anywhere you wanted to fly in the continental US for $100. The only restrictions were that you had to fly on Thanksgiving Day and return by midnight on Saturday night, two days later.

O’Hare was buzzing on Thursday morning!

I was on the first flight out, non-stop to San Jose. The plane was more than half full, but the middle seat next to me was open. I lifted the armrest, stretched out a bit and got as good of a snooze in as you could expect for the next couple hours during a four hour flight.

The best part of flying west is that you get time back…sort of. We landed around 10:00am Pacific Time, so Thanksgiving Day was still young.

My sister picked me up. It was about a 30 minute drive home down Almaden Expressway.

I walked in the front door ahead of my sister. I felt the excitement of being home.

My Dad saw me from where he was standing next to the kitchen table. I heard him gasp as his jaw dropped. With a big smile on his face, all he said was, “Sheila!” Then he repeated it.

My Mom was standing at the kitchen sink prepping the turkey, but she had her back to where I entered the kitchen from the front hall. My Dad said her name one more time. Then she turned around and before she could say something to my Dad, she saw me.

The look on her face is the one I still see this Thanksgiving and all Thanksgivings.

Mom kind of giggled and sighed at the same time while giving me a big hug. The she groaned happily and said, “Well, what a nice surprise!”

Best wishes to you and your family for a very Happy Thanksgiving. I have much to be thankful - including thankful for you!

Be sure to give your loved ones a big hug when you see them!

And save me a drumstick!

Cheers!

SWD

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