Jebediah is holding forth at one end of the table, flanked on his right by Lulu Belle, a blonde who is also his wife. Jebediah is the eldest of four; two of them four, and they’s offspring, ain’t here today.
Lulu Belle is a fine upstanding gal that likes lookin’ after her man: Every time Jebediah attempts a standing boardinghouse reach Lulu Belle snatches up whatever he is after and passes it along with great efficiency. At first I think she is jest bein’ the good wife, but after a while I seize upon the true meaning of her actions: Jeb is wearing his American Flag short-shorts commando style and Lulu Belle is jest afraid of what might get drug through the mashed potatoes if he completes one of them boardinghouse reaches. So I give kudos to Lulu Belle right off; she is fast with the fixin’s.
Settin’ on Jeb’s Port Side (his left, which he calls his Port Side cuz that is where he parks his wineglass on fancy-dinner occasions) is a little dark-haired gal who doesn’t say a lot of words. She jest isn’t one of them center-stage kinda folks, so I figure she is probably the smart one; I come to that conclusion mostly, though, cuz she don’t say much – always a sure sign of intelligence for me.
Sittin’ to the left of the little dark-haired gal is a tall drink of water everyone seems to be callin’ ‘Peyote’. At least it sounds like that to me, but maybe they is sayin’ ‘Peelohtee’ or maybe jest ‘Peelote’ --- I is never quite sure, and anyways it ain’t the name we knows him by. He and the little dark-haired gal is married, which seems right and proper cuz Peelohtee is also a person of few words even though he is much taller than the dark-haired gal; they even has few words for each other, jest knowing nods, significant smiles and willowing winks. They’s still jest a couple, but some of they’s winks and touches suggest otherwise.
To the left of Peelohtee is Ma Kettle. We call her that because she is the chief cook and bottle washer who, on most occasions, is responsible for all the grub that gets brung to the table. Ma Kettle, unlike me, is direct kin with Peelohtee and Jebediah who, theyselves, is dutiful kin that still accede to her wishes. They even smile and give her fancy-dinner politenesses when the occasion calls for them. And Ma Kettle is right proud of them offspring; you can tell by the twinkle in her eyes.
To Lulu Belle’s right are the three Wunderkind, the fruits of Jebediah’s and Lulu Belle’s loins. I has to remember to look their way from time to time cuz they is so quiet, heads down, enjoying all the vittles Lulu Belle has plated for them. They’s wonderful Wunderkind to be sure. We learned that word, “Wunderkind”, at last month’s Militia meetin’; the kind folks at the meetin’ wuz all certain they wuz gonna grow up to make us proud.
To the right of the Wunderkind there sits me, jest a spectator whose job is done. All I has to do now is marvel at the outcome, marvel that my missteps don’t seem to have mattered, and marvel at how fate brought Ma and me together; there are even times when predestination actually seems like it could really be. In a sense, though, me and Ma are no longer relevant, our stories don’t excite no one, our input ain’t really required; our purpose these days seems to be that of cheerleaders and wowed audience. But, that is what coming full circle ‘round the table is all about I expect, so we don’t complain none; besides, we ain’t got no reason to noways.
Yeah, fancy-dinner events with the youngins is fun and educational; we never know jest what we’s gonna learn about each other any more than we know if this fancy-dinner will be the last. Maybe next year there will be more Wunderkind, the fruit of Peelohtee and the little dark-haired gal. Maybe next year we will be visited by some from afar. Maybe next year we’ll jest go to ‘Vegas. What more could one ask at Thanksgiving?
