A colleague told me recently about the Thanksgiving that her brother wanted to host the family gathering.
This brother was sometimes homeless. He was on and off of drugs, and while family members were willing to help him, and he’d done multiples stunts in rehab, he sometimes still chose drugs and homelessness over normal life.
So, when he offered to host Thanksgiving, the family was skeptical. He was living in a relative’s house at the time and had been clean and sober for a bit, so everyone agreed to give this a try. If it turned out bad, there were always restaurants open on Thanksgiving Day.
The brother had a girlfriend at the time, and he said she was a terrific cook and wanted to make the entire dinner herself – Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie – everything. Again, the family was dubious, but thinking this might be the only time this particular sibling might have it together enough to play host, they went along.
The brother didn’t have much furniture, so most of the family ate Thanksgiving dinner on the front porch. Thankfully, Oklahoma’s weather was fantastic that year and it was a beautiful day. Turns out the girlfriend was a really good cook. Everyone said a prayer the food wasn’t stolen or purchased with drug money, and they all appreciated the fact that they didn’t even have to argue over who was bringing what that year.
That was the last year this brother was alive on this earth. Not long after that Thanksgiving, he went back to doing drugs and resumed his homelessness. The last time my colleague saw him, he was holding a cardboard sign at a busy intersection in Oklahoma City asking for handouts to get some food. The colleague turned her car around to get back to him to see if she could take him to buy him a meal, but he’d disappeared by the time she got back to the intersection. Several weeks later, they found his body on a path behind a local church. In some nearby woods was his campsite. On one of his cardboard signs was written the word smile in all capital letters, each letter in a different color of marker.
This year, as the family resumes it’s normal Thanksgiving plans with the group text listing what everyone is bringing, what time they’re gathering, a reminder for everyone to bring their own to-go dishes, etc., etc., she can’t help but think back to that particular Thanksgiving. It was one of the least stressful. When you don’t have much, you’re thankful for everything, she said.
Good reminder to the rest of us!
I hope everyone in House District 17 has much to be thankful for this year. I know I do. Included on my list are all of you. Happy Thanksgiving!
As always, thank You for allowing me to serve you. I can be reached at (405) 557-7381 or by email at jim.grego@okhouse.gov.
Jim Grego serves District 17 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Latimer County and parts of LeFlore and Pittsburg counties.
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