By Jerry Yeatts, F390000
FMCA Executive Director
November 2015
The Yeatts household has established a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition over the past few years, opening our home to neighbors, friends, and family the day after Thanksgiving to enjoy a meal, share some laughter, and commemorate the beginning of a crazy holiday season.
I normally place a turkey on the grill and let the aroma slowly tickle the olfactory nerves of the neighbors during the next two hours or so. I keep the temperature of the grill between 325 and 350 degrees, and try not to lift the lid and have the heat escape. When I finally peek at the turkey, it is a beautiful golden brown and smells so wonderful that my mouth begins to water.
Our daughter brings to our Thanksgiving feast fresh kale and other tasty vegetable dishes. Our son and daughter-in-law usually volunteer to bring the desserts, most often made from scratch. We all think about my Aunt Gert and the homemade noodles and cinnamon rolls she would always make. Needless to say, the packaged kluski noodles and Pepperidge Farm rolls we eat these days just aren’t the same as Aunt Gert’s made-from-scratch creations.
We laugh about the cranberry relish my mom would make using the hand grinder. No matter how many apples and oranges she would add to the cranberries, the relish always tasted a little too tart for my liking. We also laugh about the time we were at my mom’s home several years ago for Thanksgiving dinner. She ran out of room in her refrigerator for all the cold items, so she placed her strawberry pretzel gelatin salad on the cement floor of her screened-in side porch. My nephew walked outside for some fresh air and, you guessed it, his size 11 foot made a huge impression in the aluminum-foil-wrapped 9×13 dish! We had tears streaming down our faces as mom simply said that we could eat around his footprint!
Our traditions have changed over the years. We are now the “older” folks inviting the family to Thanksgiving dinner. Since our family is fairly small and scattered around the country, we continue to make memories with local family members and dear friends. We moved from the traditional Thanksgiving Day celebration to a day or, this year, two days later in order to volunteer at a huge and humbling citywide Thanksgiving dinner and coat drive for the homeless and less fortunate in our community held at the convention center in the heart of downtown Cincinnati.
Last year, we veered off course from our volunteer work and participated in the 105th annual Thanksgiving Day run, one of the oldest races in the country. Started in 1908, Greater Cincinnati’s turkey day run is the sixth oldest race in the United States, behind only the Boston Marathon and a handful of other nearly century-old events, according to Runner’s World magazine. It is a great family-oriented event that attracts children, parents, grandparents, and even family pets.
Traditions are what make families so special. Over the years, I’ve talked about some of the zany things we’ve done with our family, including swimming through mud and hopping over fire during Warrior Dash races. In his monthly “President’s Message,” Charlie Adcock enjoys sharing his latest adventures — among them his recent attempt at waterskiing, his trip through the car wash with his windows rolled down, and the times he has become hopelessly lost. These kinds of memories keep us smiling and longing for the next great adventure on which we can embark.
As Family Motor Coach Association members, we should be thankful for the many blessings we receive every day. I’m personally thankful to be able to share stories of, and with, my own family, as well as with my FMCA family. I’m thankful to be in pretty good health. I’m thankful to live where we are free to travel from coast to coast with no restrictions. I’m thankful for friends I have met through work, church, and community activities. I’m thankful that I can be sensitive to those who are hurting, whether physically or emotionally, and can offer support to lift them up. I’m thankful for being able to “give back” to those less fortunate, and to do it joyfully. I’m thankful for a hardworking and dedicated national office staff. I’m thankful for all of you, as FMCA members, who share the values of fellowship and friendship and the love of motorhome travel.
During this season of Thanksgiving, it’s good for us to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for in our lives. Perhaps for you it is health, family, friends, or the ability to travel. I’m planning to dig a little deeper in my pockets this year and once again donate to our local Freestore Foodbank, and also to prepare an extra box of food for our church’s Thanksgiving food drive. I challenge you to do something similar. Just imagine the tremendous impact we can make if we do one little thing to help those around us.
Giving thanks for safe travels.
Thanksgiving Day Observance
The FMCA national office will be closed Thursday and Friday, November 26 and 27, in observance of the Thanksgiving Day holiday. We will reopen on Monday, November 30 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
Same Great Program, New Name
FMCA Road Assist has a new name. It’s now FMCA’s Roadside Assistance Program. This change was made so as to clarify that this program offers roadside assistance to motorhome owners. Nothing has changed about the program other than the name. Please refer to the ad that appears on page 19 for a few details about the program and for information about signing up and taking advantage of the special rates offered to FMCA members.