by Linda Smith

Created on: April 20, 2008   Last Updated: February 29, 2012

A Bird in the Hand

We didn't know that this holiday would be different when we first started out. Uncle Roger got to our house right before lunch, bringing his golf clubs (which upset Mom) and Dad tried to tell him that there are no golf courses at Grandma Bellman's. But Uncle Roger never cares about that sort of thing. Still, it should have been a warning of things to come.

Nathan, Hawthorne (who hates his name and would rather be called Haw), Judy and I are cousins. Every year their families and ours caravan to Grandma Bellman's for Thanksgiving. Last year was a blast! Everyone had so much fun. The weather was warm, the sun was shining and because Grandma Bellman has this big duck pond in back, we all got wet. Nothing better than water fights in November.

But this year was all different.

Hawthorne's dad was a doctor, and he always brought his black doctor bag. We never knew exactly why, because the only time anyone did need some help, Aunt May and my mom drove them up to the hospital ER. Haw's dad didn't even open his bag. But that bag figured big this year.

Grandma Bellman lived on a huge old farmstead in the hills of central California. In the fall, the hills are dry and brown and, according to Judy, full of snakes and spiders. Uncle Roger says they are also full of wild turkeys. He said that right after we had all piled into Grandma Bellman's living room, everyone loaded down with sleeping bags and overnight cases and backpacks. Nate whispered to me that he thought maybe Uncle Roger brought the golf clubs because he was going to "clobber a gobbler" with one of them. Nate always liked to come up with funny things to say.

About an hour after our arrival, the older folks made us kids go outside. Not that it was much of a hard thing to do; we were already out. Mom, Aunt May, Aunt Julie and Grandma Bellman needed us to pick walnuts. Aunt Julie made the bestI mean the bestcandied walnuts. You couldn't even go to a store and get them better tasting. Judy being the only girl carried the basket and we boys climbed the tree.

We always called Grandma Bellman, Grandma Bellman instead of just Grandma. Somehow it never seemed right to call her "just" Grandma. Gets to be a mouthful, but that's the way it is in some families. Grandma Bellman told us not to bother with the walnut tree out behind the potting shed this year. She said it in such a way that was very curious to us. Usually when she says something about not doing something, she gets this stern look on her face

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