Tales from the Huffmans

Thanksgiving season is upon us¹, and there are many things to be thankful for².  Thank goodness³, high school and college level football season is nearing an end, and playoff games⁴ at the regional and national levels⁵ are in progress⁶.  Many of us in the U.S. begin to tire of⁷ football games on TV by this late time in the season, especially if our favorite university or college teams are eliminated⁸ from playoff and bowl games⁹.  We are also thankful that most of the football players we know have escaped serious injuries –not all of them unfortunately- and the coaches are thankful that they will be returning –unfortunately not all of them- to coach another year, and that some of the players will also return to play football next year, thanks to a good effort in the classroom in the current year.

  But, then, Thanksgiving is not all about football, is it?  There’s also the food to be thankful for.  Both Maxine and Kim are beginning to get things ready for the Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  Our son Jim, daughter Kim, Maxine and I will have our dinner at home this year along with an elderly colleague who now has no family to be with. Jim, who has been chef¹⁰ at a Des Moines restaurant for over 6 years declared his intention of “coming home to Pella to eat Mom’s cooking” and put in his order for the usual Thanksgiving menu.

  Like most American families, we’ll eat too much of the excellent food, gorge¹¹ ourselves into a lethargic state¹², and then turn on the TV to watch football games, many of which are scheduled to be played on Thanksgiving Day.  We’ll join the masses¹³ who drift off to sleep¹⁴ occasionally as the games drone on^15, ask one another what just happened a minute or two ago in the game, and, if we have the energy, play some games like Sequence¹⁶, Mexican Train¹⁷, Scrabble¹⁸, etc.  Sometime later, into the evening hours we’ll see if there are leftovers¹⁹ of turkey to make sandwiches, some pumpkin pie²⁰ on the side²¹, and possibly more liquid refreshments to wash down the food.

  If the weather permits, and enough family and friends are around, we might get out the old football from the closet and get up a game of tag-football²² to run off some of the excessive calories²³ we’ve just added to our bodies.  That’s a tradition made famous by the Kennedy family²⁴ while President J.F. Kennedy and his brothers held political sway²⁵, and when others in the U.S. watched them on T.V. as they played off their “Turkey Day” gluttony²⁶ like a multitude²⁷ of other families.  Some of us “older people” may take a walk with the dog before giving up and going to bed.  A good bed is something to be thankful for!

  Somewhere along in Thanksgiving Day, most of us will quietly acknowledge²⁸ the socio-religious traditions²⁹ of the day, perhaps even having a pre-meal blessing³⁰ on the food, thinking once more of the Pilgrims³¹ and their native Indian hosts³² in early America, and giving thanks for the food and the opportunity to be together once again.  Well, the time has come, “Let’s play football!³³”

Notes:
1. Thanksgiving season is upon us: Thanksgiving season is here or is approaching.
2. thankful for…: grateful for…; feeling fortunate about … (感激的，庆幸的).
3. Thank goodness: 谢天谢地
4. playoff games: post season games played to determine regional or national championships in sports (季后赛，以决定地区或全国冠军).
5. at the regional and national levels：地区和全国级别的（比赛）
6. in progress: happening now, and not yet finished (正在进行).
7. to tire of: to lose interest in, usually because there has been too much of a thing (对……感到厌倦).
8. eliminated: removed from (被淘汰了).
9. bowl games (冠军杯赛): special post season games, usually promoted by commercial sponsors, usually played where the weather is favorable and where large  crowds can be attracted.  The most famous and oldest bowl game in the U.S. is the Rose Bowl, held in Pasadena, California. 
10. chef: a professional well-trained cook.
11. gorge: eat until one is too full to eat any more (塞饱，拼命吃喝).
12. a lethargic state : a slow moving, lazy state (懒洋洋的状态).
13. masses: large numbers of people (群众).
14. drift off to sleep: gradually fall asleep
15. drone on: continue in a boring way, usually for a long time (冗长单调地进行).
16. Sequence: 一种纸牌和纸盘相结合的游戏
17. Mexican Train: 一种骨牌游戏
18. Scrabble: 一种拼字游戏
19. leftovers: the food remaining after people have finished eating the meal (剩饭菜).
20. pumpkin pie: 南瓜馅饼
21. on the side: with the addition of; in addition to (做为搭配吃的).
22. tag football: an informal game of football with less roughness than in the traditional game.
23. excessive calories: 过剩的能量/卡路里
24. Kennedy family: 肯尼迪家族，a well-known family of U.S. politicians, including President J. F. Kennedy.
25. held political sway : were in power; had political power (掌握政权).
26. Turkey Day gluttony: the bad habit of eating and drinking too much on Thanksgiving Day (感恩节大吃大喝的坏习惯).
27. multitude: a large group of people
28. acknowledge: admit or recognize (承认).
29. socio-religious traditions: 社会和宗教传统
30. a pre-meal blessing: 饭前祈祷
31. Pilgrims: 早期离开英国到如今的美国的清教徒移民
32. hosts：主人
33. Let’s play football!: A phrase used by announcers at football games broadcast by radio or television.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 at 4:05 pm and is filed under Holidays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.