Friends – I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. This is my favorite time of the year.
To celebrate the holiday, we made our annual trek to my 97-year-old grandmother’s house last Thursday. With a few exceptions, this has been our family tradition for over 50 years now – since before I was around.
My grandfather hasn’t been here for the last 21 Thanksgivings… but they’ve all happened at the home he built in 1954.
The man had the vision to buy about 20 acres of land in the countryside outside of Richmond, VA back then. He worked as a police officer in the city… I suspect that experience fueled his desire to live in the country.
Looking back – he always maintained a large garden. I especially loved his okra. Grandma would fry it up perfectly.
And I’ll never forget his big red tractor with oversized tires. That leviathan is what he cut his grass with.
I reflect on these things each year when we venture back for Thanksgiving. It occurs to me that my grandfather is a textbook picture of the American Dream.
Continue reading “The American Dream: A Changing Reality”