Thanksgiving 2014

A lot of what happened this weekend was shaped by what happened last weekend.  Last weekend, Sheila decided that we needed to take a load of green waste to the dump and get it out of our backyard. Our son-in-law Robert graciously loaded it up for us on Saturday. Sunday, when it quit raining, we headed up to the green waste dump site. That's where IT happened.

For the past several months, my knees had been getting progressively better.  I had been walking without a cane (and without excessive pain) most of the time and helped along by Synvisc injections into the joint of the worst knee, the left, I was getting around pretty well and feeling pretty good.

However, Sunday morning, when I walked around the pickup to begin unloading the green waste at the dump, my knee joint tore again. There was only minor pain at the moment and I thought nothing about it.  But, by Sunday night, I couldn't walk.  I was literally dragging my left leg behind me as I leaned on a three point cane to get from my chair to the bathroom.  The pain was intense and I simply couldn't get around. It didn't get any better the next day.  So, whatever we did for Thanksgiving was going to include the big cane, pain pills and me strapped into carbon fiber and velcro from my crotch to my ankle.  But, it still wasn't going to include my walking more than a few steps or standing for more than a few moments.  Even with the pain pills, the joint wouldn't support me.

Sheila called Jincy's in Qualls and made reservations for us for Thanksgiving dinner.  We were given the 1:00 o'clock sitting. The Baker clan (as in Chief Bill John and crew) had apparently pretty well filled up the 11:00 o'clock.
The drive over and back was a pleasant break from the house where I had been confined for the past several days. Our lunch companions were a mixed batch of locals, lake dwellers down for the weekend and folks from the big city like us. The only real common denominator was an intense sense of what I can only call "Okieness." The talk was mostly about things like the extinction of quail, the small deer population, baby foxes sneaking around lake cabins, etc. Debbie, the owner talked about her good hay crop this year and the fact that she couldn't get anybody to haul square baled hay anymore.

The meal was the best turkey dinner I have ever had.  It was sweet how Debbie and Diana fussed over us and helped Sheila get me served from the buffet line.  I was touched. Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant can be pretty dismal.  Debbie and Diana went out of their way to make everyone feel at home and succeeded, at least on our part.  It was a fabulous meal served in a warm, friendly, family like setting.

I talked Sheila out of doing much Black Friday shopping by showing her that the savings really weren't worth the hassle.  She decided to just get a few things for herself.

On the way out, we had lunch at Calaveras. Calaveras is located on the corner of Admiral and Lewis right square in the middle of the Kendall-Whittier Square arts district. It is a perfect place to see an art film at the oh so fashionable Circle Cinema or buy art supplies, framing materials or even religious artifacts at the huge, family run, Ziegler's store.  You can also get mugged or shot while you watch drunks pile out of the nearby, legendary, Bee Hive Lounge.  Until very recently, you could also view "private screenings" of another type of "art film" and buy videos, books, DVD's etc. aimed at that other "art market" at a disreputable place that was frequented by men who could only be described as creepy.  That place has apparently, finally, shut down after years of complaints.

The meal at Calvera's was excellent.  Sheila had a torta, a Mexican sandwich with meat, beans and guacamole, and other fixins made on a whole load of Mexican bread split in half and toasted on the grill.  I had a chile relleno burrito.  It was composed of meat, rice, beans and grilled chilis and
topped with slices of chile rellenos stuffed with white cheese.  It is usually served covered with a white queso sauce but I asked for it on the side instead and just sampled a little bit of it.

Mexican food is very diverse and changes from region to region and here in Tulsa from block to block depending upon where the folks came from.  I don't know where these folks came from but the menu is what I call Cal-Mex because it is very much like the delicious Mexican fusion food served in the barrios and food trucks of California.

The atmosphere at Calvera's is more fast food than I care for and the crowd is a mix between artsy and musician types, old money from the rich neighborhoods a mile or so south and really poor folks from the immediate neighborhood splurging. It is a strange and perhaps unsettling mix of both people and neighborhood. For example, we couldn't park near the door and I couldn't walk the half block or so from the nearest parking space.  So, Sheila let me off at the door and parked the car.  But, I watched her from the street every second from the moment the car stopped until she was safely in the restaurant. I prefer El Burrito a mile or so down Admiral at Pittsburg where the crowd is mostly Mexican families and working men mixed with merchants and working people from the nearby factories and businesses.

After lunch, Sheila did her personal shopping. She has a thing for SteinMart. She acquired a new bag, a new pair of pants and a new pair of shoes,  After SteinMart, there was a quick stop at Sams and then the WalMart neighborhood market for few groceries.  I sat in the car, enjoyed the sun on my face, watched people and listened to several episodes of Gunsmoke on the satellite radio.

Friday night, we settled in a for quick home cooked meal and an evening of Australian television from the net.  We have become kind of addicted to an Aussie family dramedy called "Packed To The Rafters," and their equivalent of a police procedural called "Blue Heelers."  The Aussie programming is quite entertaining but not nearly as brassy and in your face as American programming has become. It's also more polite and good-natured. I really can't stomach much American network TV anymore. It insults my intelligence and my values.

It was a less than ideal holiday.  Sheila is working at TU today and we will be in all day tomorrow.  I have lived with the knee pain before and I suspect I will get through this rough patch as well. Somehow, I have to drag myself into the courthouse Monday.  After that, hopefully, the docs can get me in for physical therapy to begin working on loosening up and strengthening out the torn joint. But, I am thankful for all of the good things that happened this weekend.  Debbie and Diana served us a wonderful meal, Sheila had a good time picking up a few new things and I have had worse afternoons than sitting in the sun drinking a big Diet Coke and listening to Gunsmoke.  And, I am thankful for the hope that, through God's grace, this will just be another rough patch with the arthritic knees and things will get better soon.