thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with our son and daughter-in-law in Pennsylvania, where he's started dental school and she's holding down two jobs, one of which furthers her career as a chemist. The other is a fine place to raise some extra cash and take advantage of the employees' discount on some very nice stuff although most of it is "chick" stuff (Anthropologie). We were joined by a daughter who now lives in Boston. It was good to have half of our offspring and half of our two children-in-law (what a horrible-sounding term) with us.

They cooked a 20-pound turkey for the five of us, and about five side dishes and three pies. We had to buy a third seat on the airplane so the two of us could fit in on the flight home. Just kidding, but an empty third seat would have been nice. Fat chance, on a Thanksgiving weekend.

The weather was refreshingly cold, but damp, and the fall leaves hadn't all gone. We hiked a trail a short distance to a covered bridge and back, visited Amish country, saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, strolled through the Reading Terminal Market, and of course tried some Philly steak sandwiches (at Rick's - the "works"), and visited Valley Forge.

The last time I saw Valley Forge was during a Boy Scout National Jamboree, too many years ago to even think about it. That's where the American Revolution nearly died. 12,000 soldiers went in, 6,000 came out. 2,000 died, but they've found only one grave. The rest either deserted or their enlistments ran out and they went home. But, in the springtime, the ranks of the American army grew and they were turned into soldiers, not just a ragged band of "embattled farmers." The war slugged on for another three years and you know how the story turned out.

Thansgiving conjures up thoughts of family, food and friends, but I have to admit that this year I was thinking about those barefooted guys who were not summer soldiers or sunshine patriots, and feeling very thankful for their legacy.

If they hadn't succeeded, we'd all be speaking English.