Thanksgiving Dinner

Clark County residents will have the opportunity to burn off some of those Thanksgiving calories a little early this year. The third annual Turkey Trot 5K race will be this Saturday at Winchester’s newest walking trail, The Path. The event began in 2008 as a fundraiser for Clark County Community Services and has continued to grow in popularity each year. Event co-chair Gina Lang said that the number of people pre-registering has doubled since the first year. As of press time, 70 people had registered and Lang said organizers expected more people to register on race day. “It’s definitely an attempt to get people active, and obviously to raise money for Clark County Community Services.

Ben Rainwater sings Ben Rainwater, man with the Elvis voice from Nicholasville, will provide special music at Victory Christian Church, 660 Stanford Road, Lancaster, on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 10:30 a.m. The church is located 1.2 miles south of Lancaster Public Square on Hwy. 27. Community Thanksgiving service The community Thanksgiving service sponsored by the Lincoln County Ministerial Association will be held Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 6...

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone in the Red Shoe family. I spent the day with my mom and the rest of our family at our house on Bethel Road, the same as always. I did my part to carry on the Thanksgiving tradition of over-indulgence and ate at least half a chess pie by myself, and that was before dinner even started. I do love any event that encourages eating ridiculous quantities of food. Of course, there is more to Thanksgiving than the food, although that does seem to be the highlight for most people.

Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and with it comes not only bittersweet memories, but also the opportunity for new memories to be made. As we were growing up, we soon learned that Thanksgiving was a very special time at our home. It was the time when all the family was expected to be at the home of our parents. And as our relationships grew serious and marriages were eminent, the young men and women who soon would be part of our family learned where they were to be for Thanksgiving dinner.

’Tis the season to scour my jewelry stashes for the Christmas-themed baubles. As I pulled out one pin, I had to laugh. In red and white letters are three words, separated by candy canes. “Ho, Ho, Ho” it proclaims. I must admit to being a little self-conscious of my girth when I wear it. The reason it made me laugh is because I recall one particularly hectic Christmas when it figured prominently in my wardrobe. I’m not a big Santa fan, but a dear student had given me the pin, so I thought it should make an appearance.

I stared out the window, my nose make making two small circles on the frosty glass as I watched my dad chase a large rooster around the yard. The rooster and I were the same age. But at 5 years old, our lives were at opposite junctions. Mine was just beginning, and his was about to culminate on the dinner table. I didn't sample any of the roasted rooster my family enjoyed that Thanksgiving. After witnessing the hapless bird's last dash, I stuck with vegetables and pumpkin pie. But that was the first Thanksgiving I can recall, and aside from the rooster trauma, it was a very pleasant day. I can recall the sound of wood crackling in the fireplace.

It starts out simply enough. There's a catchy, lilting little riff on an acoustic guitar, a simple chorus that still sticks in your head, two Thanksgiving dinners that couldn't be beat and the long-standing ramifications of illegal dumping on Thanksgiving. Eighteen minutes later, it turns into a protest of the draft and the government in late 1960s America, wrapped around the promise that you could get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant. In the decades since, Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" became a movie, and a Thanksgiving tradition for radio stations across the country.

Undoubtedly, as we do each year, many of us will gather with family on Thanksgiving. Around dinner tables, we will talk, and laugh, enjoy good food, and later spend the afternoon relaxing, perhaps watching a football game on television. It will be a restful day. Yet, for many families with loved ones serving in the military, there will be an empty chair at the dinner table. For the men and women serving overseas this Thanksgiving, far away from home and holiday traditions, only the occasional phone call, a letter, or the memory of past Thanksgivings will connect them to family this holiday season.

THURSDAY - First Assembly of God, located at 1701 Wilmore Road, will host a community Thanksgiving dinner Nov. 24 at 12:30 p.m. The church welcomes all who are not able to travel home or anyone else who would like to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. For more information or directions, call the church at 859-885-7601. SATURDAY - A free meal is provided by Manna Ministries each Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The meal is a restaurant-quality meal served at 303 W. Maple St. in the community center of Nicholasville United Methodist Church.