I have this friend, and he used to love Thanksgiving. It was his favorite time of year because turkey and mashed potatoes were his favorite foods, and this was the only time he ever really got to have them.The rest of the year his mom never felt like cooking a turkey. Once she gave him the Stouffers turkey slices, but he wasn’t really sure he wanted to try that again. His mom also usually made flake instant mashed potatoes, but on Thanksgiving she made them from scratch.
One Thanksgiving my friend was on his way to my apartment when he was done with dinner. He had just had two servings of dinner at his mom’s and I had told him to save room for when he got to my place, because I had plenty of leftovers from my own dinner. As he left his mom’s she gave him some food to take with him. Food was just in abundance everywhere, it seemed.
On the road on the way to my apartment, he saw a homeless man wrapped in a blanket resting in a doorway. Since there was so much food to be had by everyone he knew, he decided to give the guy some food. He pulled over, hopped out and walked over to the doorway. He tapped on the man’s shoulder and waited for a response.
The guy never responded. My friend discovered he was dead. On Thanksgiving, while some people take naps after a long meal in a cozy dining room, some people sleep outside. My friend doesn’t like Thanksgiving anymore. He doesn’t want to celebrate it and he generally works at soup kitchens on Thursday.
I don’t want this to ruin your holiday. Don’t stop celebrating. Just remember to be thankful. – Amanda Koch (The author is a frequent Current contributor.)