[0:00]
Welcome to Boxcar English
Where there’s always room for you
My name is Karl. It’s good to see you.
Get on this train, let’s ride — I’ve got another story for you…
[0:33]
I woke up a little late today, because I had the day off. It was Thanksgiving today. Thanksgiving is an important holiday in the United States, where family and friends get together to share a meal. People usually eat turkey, cornbread, sweet potatoes, and a lot of different pies. Many special dishes are made and, well, it can have a nice kind of autumn feeling.
[1:05]
This year, I was going to have Thanksgiving with my Grandmother, Gran, at her retirement home, Golden Pastures. That’s where I’ve had Thanksgiving the last few years. Before I went there, I was going to cook something to take with me. Since most of the people at Golden Pastures are older, and their teeth are a little less strong, I thought I should make something pretty soft. I was going to make “ambrosia.” Ambrosia is a cold dish, made of yogurt, or whipped cream, and fruit. The only problem was that I didn’t have any of those ingredients, and I had forgotten to get them beforehand at the grocery store when I bought my magic markers.
[1:59]
I looked around my kitchen to see what I could find. I didn’t have very much food at all. I needed to go to grocery shopping. But, since it was Thanksgiving, the stores would all be closed. That happens sometimes when you live alone. All I could find was some corn chips and salsa. Both were already open, but they were almost full. “Better than nothing,” I thought, and got in the car.
[2:31]
When I got to Gran’s retirement home, I saw the bright red lights of an ambulance flashing. Someone was being taken to the hospital, it seemed. Gran had been in the hospital recently with a broken hip — I was hoping she was OK. But, I also just had a feeling that the ambulance wasn’t there for her.
[2:55]
And, sure enough, Gran was at the door when I came in, seated in a wheelchair. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” she said. When she said that, I felt glad of course that she was glad to see me, but I also could tell that something bad had happened. “What do you mean, Gran?” I asked. Why am I sight for sore eyes?
[3:23]
She said Tony had passed away overnight. The ambulance was there for him. Mr. Tony didn’t speak very much. He mostly lived in his own world. But he would always nod his head to say “Hello” whenever he saw you. Sometimes, he would nod his head Hello just a few minutes after he had just done it to you. And now, he was gone.
[3:58]
Gran’s best friend at Golden Pastures, whose name is Mildred, came into the lobby. “Well we don’t have Mr. Tony any more,” she said.
“I guess not,” said Gran.
“But you’re looking lovely today Mildred.”
Mildred responded, “You too, Pernie, you’re looking smart today.”
I don’t know if I ever told you that Gran’s real name is Pernie, but it is. That’s what her friends call her, of course. Mildred put her hands on Gran’s shoulders. She looked at me, with her lips tight and her eyes opened wide. “Well I’m sorry, Karl, I didn’t even say hello. Happy Thanksgiving.”
[4:51]
I gave Gran and Mildred hugs and told them both Happy Thanksgiving, then pushed Gran’s wheelchair into the dining room. The people who work at Golden Pastures were preparing a Thanksgiving meal. Gran was also making her famous apple pie, and she asked me to take her to the oven to check on it. I rolled her up to one of the ovens in the kitchen and she looked in. “It’s ready,” she said. “Can you take it out, Karl?” I took it out. It was steaming, a great smell of apple and cinnamon.
[5:30]
I put the pie on the tables set up for the holiday. I looked around, there were the residents coming around, some in wheelchairs, some with walking canes. I recognized everybody. There was Mr. Fred, rather short and bald, with his pants up high, who always carries a teddy bear with him. Ms. Gladys, with a lot of big necklaces on. Ms. Wanda, who always wore a frown, but was actually quite nice. Ms. Yolanda, with her wild, colorful clothes. Mr. Bill, a sweet old man who played the harmonica. Ms. Ethel, who didn’t speak at all and only ate Honey Buns.
[6:50]
It’s funny how we always say “Mr.” or “Ms.” before the first name of an old person. I’m not really sure why we do that.
[6:28]
Well, the tables were ready. There were dishes with turkey, potatoes, vegetables, pies, and someone had put my chips and salsa in a couple of nice bowls, which made them look much better. There were 17 chairs set up, each with a plate, a glass, a napkin, a fork, a spoon, and a knife. One of those places was for Mr. Tony, and it was left empty.
[7:06]
Before we ate, Darren, who is the owner of Golden Pastures, said some words about Mr. Tony. “We lost a friend today. Mr. Tony was a good friend who always kept us on our toes. He was a teacher in his younger days and knew a lot about philosophy. He loved to say names like Schopenhauer and Spinoza. Not many people know him, because he was a quiet man. But he was our friend here at Golden Pastures. We’re going to miss you Tony.”
[7:48]
Gran put her head in her hands and said, “Oh, why’d Tony have to pick Thanksgiving to die?”
I put my arm around her and told her I loved her. And we didn’t have much to say, maybe not as we would have on a normal Thanksgiving. But we went ahead and enjoyed each other’s company, mostly saying, “Pass the gravy” or, “Pass the potatoes.”
[8:18]
I would occasionally look at the bowl of chips and salsa that I had brought and wonder if anyone had eaten any of it. It seemed like most everyone was ignoring it, which was no big surprise for me. I forgot about it after a while, as Mildred and Gran eventually got into talking about movies and actors — their favorite topic. They watched one or two old movies together every night, and talk about making their own movie someday, which I think is a very interesting idea. I got interested in talking about this with them. They wanted to make a movie about a man who falls in love with a tree behind someone else’s house. The owner of the house won’t let him stay in his yard, so he has to sneak there at night to climb up in the tree and read it love poems. I thought this sounded like a very interesting movie, and offered to help in any way.
[9:29]
Then I heard someone say, “Many thanks to whoever brought the chips and salsa. Winston thanks you.” It was Mr. Fred, who was standing up, ready to go back to his room. He was holding up his teddy bear, whose name was Winston, and whose mouth was covered in salsa.
“Mr Fred, I did not know Winston liked chips and salsa so much,” said Mildred.
“We’ll have to remember that and bring him some on his birthday,” said Gran.
They knew Mr Fred didn’t know Winston was real, and would feed him. Darren, the owner, was always having to sneak the bear away and wash him with the laundry, so he wouldn’t start to smell bad.
Mr Fred smiled back, “That’ll be so nice. I like chips and salsa too. That was the best thing on this table today.”
[10:38]
It was funny, the way Mr Fred smiled. You almost thought he knew Winston, the toy bear, wasn’t real, and wasn’t really eating. But then you couldn’t quite tell. What a funny old man, what a funny old world.
[11:00]
Well, we finished Thanksgiving with coffee and apple pie and a song for Mr Tony. “Don’t you know, it’s the end of the world,” a song by Skeeter Davis. We all sang along, feeling a little sad, but not able to stop laughing with each other. It was a beautiful moment. Happy Thanksgiving.
[11:33]
That’s all for now, folks.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Boxcar English.
And Happy Thanksgiving. I’ll see you next time. Goodbye.
[12:00]