TWO

1. Thanksgiving is two weeks from today. It is a holiday that has always meant a great deal to me, one full of family and tradition. Ever since I was a kid, my family (Mom, Dad, and my brother Theron) would travel to Williamsport, PA (also the home of Little League baseball) to meet up with all of my relatives. When I was younger, we would take turns as to which part of the family we had dinner with. Some years we would be at Grandma and Grandpa Steiner's, where we would also eat with Aunt Ginny and Uncle John. That was it for my dad's side of the family. Other years we would eat at Grandma and Percy's, where my mom's sisters and their families would be. Those years we got to eat with our cousins at the kid table. But even if we ate at the Steiner house, we would end up at the other one.

Things changed, of course. Grandma and Grandpa Steiner moved to an apartment and could no longer host dinners. My then-girlfriend, now-wife started coming. Grandma and Percy moved to an apartment, which meant we started go out for dinner. Grandpa Steiner and then Uncle John passed away. Jill and I had a son. My cousin Heath got married to Anne. And so on.

We always had the traditions, though they have also mutated over the years. Homemade ice cream and lots of pie. The ladies' luncheon and the guys' lunch. Sub night. Lots of games of Hearts and then lots of games of euchre. Aunt Ginny's fabulous Saturday breakfasts. The trip to Woolrich. Traditions.

This year is going to be a bit different. Both of my grandmothers passed away in October, three weeks apart. A difficult month and one that necessitated two unexpected trips to Williamsport. I haven't eaten a Thanksgiving meal without them in a long time (probably 1994, when I had to stay in Valpo because my boss was having a baby and I had to manage Subway). It is going to be weird to do that this year. But the rest of the family will be there and we will go on. We'll eat a lot and laugh a lot and just enjoy being together. Thanksgiving is about family and I'm looking foward to it. I always do.

2. This is my second blog here at Blogspot. I had deleted the original Shooflypie a while back...I had decided it wasn't worth thinking about anymore and I should be writing creative material and blah blah blah. Obviously, I've missed it. However, I couldn't get my Shooflypie URL back and that's why this is Another Piece of Shooflypie. Shooflypie is good enough to have two pieces anyway.

So, if you're finding me again - welcome back. And if this is your first taste of any Shooflypie, welcome. Please feel free to post comments and I start to once again build a backlog of posts. I don't promise regularity, though I will try for it. I do promise to talk about anything and everything that is on my mind but mostly I'll try to talk you into reading/watching/listening to whatever I'm into. If I like it, shouldn't you?