Make the Stuffing!

ONCE upon a time there was a stuffing that was unlike any other stuffing. It was a mixture of potatoes, and seasoning, dried bread, salt pork, and onions. This stuff is delicious. In fact, the word stuffing seems quite an inadequate title for this savory explosion of awesomeness. I have had quite a few other stuffings in my life. There was the raisin stuffing my dad's mom used to make, and the traditional stove-top style bread stuffing that most people seem to go with. I have had them, and officially hate them all. Except this. This is the stuffing among stuffings. It is special.

I have heard from those who have made the stuffing that it is a bit hard to make. I can imagine that peeling all of the potatoes is a chore, and then the bicep workout from mixing a giant bowl of the dense mixture is probably not an easy task. On top of that, there are always regular mashed potatoes for the family meal, as well, so in planning the dinner there is the whole, "do we really need two potato dishes?" argument.

My answer is a hearty YES! You see, this stuffing is historical. In my family it is known as Ree Ree's stuffing. Family folklore holds that his mother made it for him as a young boy, and I know that he has had it every year for the past 67 years that he has been married to my beautiful grandmother. It is not a tradition, it is tradition.

Sometimes I stop and imagine that I was born in 1916, the year the my mom's dad, was born. He has seen a lot in his time here on Earth. The model T Ford was still a new car when he was born. He was alive to see the Flappers and Prohibition, heck his mother could have been a Flapper for all I know. He lived through The Great Depression, fought in WWII, and was living his life as history unfolded... The Bay of Pigs, Vietnam, Watergate, JFK and the grassy knoll, the first microwave, and on and on. When I think about how much change he has lived through it makes me feel overwhelmed. I do not do well with change. I cannot imagine trying to make sense of the new reality that each decade has brought to his world. I think about the changes in America, in our culture, in our morals, in our politics, and even just in the way things are done with developing technology. In pondering what his eyes have seen over the past 9 decades, I have decided that it's no wonder my grandfather loves books and puzzles. Its a pretty safe bet that those have remained relatively unchanged over the years.

Yes, books, puzzles, and Ree Ree's stuffing. Three things that this amazing man can count on. He doesn't ask for much. In fact, there are only two things that I think of when I think of Ree Ree eating a Thanksgiving dinner. Those two things are Queen of Pudding, A.K.A. "The Queen", and his special stuffing. "The Queen" is a bread pudding. Sweet with grape jelly and soggy with whey, which is a good thing in a bread pudding. Lovely egg white peaks, browned on top, lovingly, by my grandmother. Ree Ree will forsake all other desserts, actually all other foods, for a taste of his Queen of Pudding. The stuffing is Ree Ree's as well. In past years, it was Ree Ree who made the stuffing, or at least he was the official taster who told my grandmother what to add to make it pure perfection. Now though, he is almost 95, and so my mother makes the stuffing. It is unusual, one of a kind, and delicious. And, it is his.

I say all that to say this. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for all of our blessings. To be thankful for the bounty provided us by God, and for the things for which we are lacking, because our limitations are what inspire our creativity. This year, one thing that we are most thankful for in our family, is Ree Ree. For his contagious laugh, and the sparkle in his eyes. For the stories that he tells, and for what he has seen. For the arms that embrace us, and for the smile that captivates us. We are thankful to have him to spend this holiday with, and even though it is a job to make, even though we are already having mashed potatoes, and even though Charlie doesn't really like it; I say, "make the stuffing". The stuffing is like Ree Ree; it is a living legend. It may not be what Thanksgiving is all about, but it means something to Ree Ree. When he thinks back on his favorite holidays past, he remembers the smell of salt pork in the house, and the family holding hands around the table. And he remembers the joy of asking his loved ones to pass the stuffing. In an act of true thankfulness for Ree Ree, I suggest we suffer through the tiring, tedious, process, and silently endure the horrors of endless potato peeling. We should risk being gauche by having two potato dishes on the table, and for the love of God make the stuffing!