Happy Thanks'ginger', Y'all...

...Hello, all! Just wanting to wish all of you Gingerologists out there a festive, yet reflective Thanksgiving weekend! DON'T FORGET the Ginger/Fred-a-thon begins at 4:30 am on Thursday Morning!
Of course, when this season rolls around each year, I can't help but be reminded of that beguiling Turkey Day we all shared at VKM's place back in '37...I'm sure you all remember it as fondly as I...


Of course, her digs in Beverly Hills was the only place large enough to accomodate us all comfortably...and of course she was ever the gracious host... this picture captures the color palette from that era, in that everything was 'pastel' in nature...that is why 'colorized' films have those 'mild' hues... global warming has made colors more intense...

Her entry foyer contained these large sculpture-type objects, of large white horses with dudes with pointy hats riding them... she seemed to be very proud of those, for whatever reason... and she loved to greet her guests in a very fashionable and engaging manner, whilst posing in front of these horses...she looked fabulous, natch...

Of course, being in motion pictures, she always eagerly documented any gathering with her camcorder...I believe this was an early Sony model, which ran on kerosene... unfortunately, the film itself was comprised of asbestos and DDT, and was thus eventually confiscated and destroyed by fringe groups which could best be described as 'lacking in patriotism'...

Well, of course the main reason for our convergence was the Great Thanksgiving Feast, which Ginger was so famous for... and as expected, the presentation was stunning...the table setting was immaculate, totally perfect in every way... I honestly could not find a picture of her table setting, however, so I opted to include this photo of her setting on a table...which honestly is far more stunning than any arrangement of china and silverware one could muster...

Ginger was such a great hostess...promptly delivering all of the scrumptious dishes she had lovingly prepared to the table with lightning speed and unparalleled grace, never letting her guests want for anything... and all this whilst in high heels, and if not totally backwards, at least in directions which were not of a typical nature, even for VKM...

After we had all gormandized to the verge of lunacy, Ginger swiftly cleared the table and summoned us to her famous ice cream fountain, where she held court over the frozen delicacies...hey, does anyone remember what flavor was Ginger's fav? I think it was pistachio... ...notice how she effortlessly changes outfits between each phase of the serving schedule...as well as hairstyles; remember, these photos were all taken on the SAME DAY!!! They just don't make ladies like that anymore, y'all...well, present company excluded, of course...heh heh...

Well, by then we all had to somehow get moving around to burn off some calories or else perish, so VKM broke out her racket, cracked open a new can of Wilsons and hit the court... Ginger didn't soft shoe when it came to tennis, and she waxed anyone foolhardy enough to find themselves across the net from her. I still have a few round divots on my forehead where she cranked out a few backhands at me...she would have been lethal with a graphite racket...

Well, after the tennis whuppins were administered by our otherwise gracious host, it was getting to be early evening, and folks were starting to make their 'final rounds' for goodbyes, was so good to see you again, let's do lunch, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... and Ginger was kinda ready to start getting the house back in order, I could tell... she knew how we tended to 'linger' at her place well after the event proper was over (especially me...), hence she was getting a bit 'concerned', as the picture above shows... but still a graceful hostess, as usual...

But before anyone could get away, I grabbed my trusty Kodak Brownie and snapped a few group pictures for posterity...I'm sure y'all remember posing for this one - it's kinda neat going back and picking out which one is which...but heck, y'all know which one you are in this pic... Let's see, there's Lauren, Beth, Jennifer, Maggie, Juliette, Amanda, Maria, Arianna, Winona, Alex, Betsy, Fioraon, Mirriam, Kate, Nicole, Sarah, Kori and of course, Ginger... hmmmm, looks like a few of y'all were missing in this particular pic - I think a couple of y'all cut out early to go on over to Barbara Stanwyck's shindig that evening...didn't Tom drive some of y'all over there in his straight-eight Packard?

Well, after everyone else had left, as usual, I was still hanging around (Miss Stanwyck did not invite me to her shindig - she honestly just didn't like me at all... and just because she caught me rummaging thru her garbage cans a few times...) Ginger was a bit frazzled by my tenacity, but at the same time somehow touched that I was still there (she was such a patient lady...) But, she had to leave right then and there for Chicago for a week, regarding some movie, play, etc... never a sedentary moment for that lady, THATS for sure... she said I could have the remainder of the turkey carcass for sustanance, and I could stay out in her pool house, which was very generous of her... of course, that's when I parlayed the situation into becoming her full-fledged cabana boy just a few weeks later, fetching ice cream for her and her guests, while being allowed to converse with her every once in a while... such a perfect occupation... the only possible way it would have been better was if I was actually on the payroll... but you guys did a great job helping me out financally, with all the USO shows y'all put on... which is what Thanksgiving is all about, right?

Well, I hope this recollection of that wonderful day back in '37 has given you a warm, sentimental feeling...and implores you to make the most of the impending Turkey Day, in order to have more great memories for the years to come...

Have a great and safe weekend, y'all!!!

Huey - VKMfan - Gingerologist