1. The one 40+ years ago when my Aunt Dot Mulling passed out on the back porch of Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house.
2. The one where we stayed in Louisville and took advantage of the Take Five restaurant's "Dinner and a Movie" deal for Thanksgiving dinner.
3. The other one where we stayed in Louisville and a member of the little church I served as pastor had died and they had the funeral on Thanksgiving morning which meant we had to drive 70 miles each way and put off our Thanksgiving dinner with friends until supper time.
4. The ones when the big Barksdale family gathering in the New Life Baptist fellowship hall still included Granny and her sisters.
5. The one where for the first time I had deep fried turkey, prepared by my late good friend Gary Spann.
6. The one where we held the first Ruffin bonfire/hot dog roast/hayride on Thanksgiving night in Yatesville, which has for many years now been an annual tradition.
7. The one when the Community Thanksgiving Service was held in the sanctuary of FBC Adel where an African-American gentleman played the piano and sang wearing a white suit and sunglasses and Joshua, who was just a little fellow at the time, tugged on my sleeve and asked, "Is that the man who sings, "You got the right one, baby'?"
8. The one when we began our tradition of spending the 15 minute drive from Yatesville to Barnesville listening to the greatest Thanksgiving song ever recorded which is, of course, "Alice's Restaurant".
9. The one that was the first one that Debra and I celebrated as husband and wife and that included performing the wedding ceremony of Bruce Swatts & Yolanda Perez and then having a Thanksgiving dinner with my father & step-mother that featured the traditional broiled pork chops.
10. The ones when I have reminded myself every Thanksgiving Day to be thankful every other day of the year.
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