"Cartoon of the Month"    Thanksgiving Menu Then and Now It is believed that the Pilgrim Colonists and the Wampanoag Indians celebrated the very first Thanksgiving feast after their first harvest in 1621 in Plymouth, MA. The harvest festival was religious in nature and took place outdoors, where hundreds of people gathered to partake in the festivities. Food was plentiful for this occasion and the spirit of thankfulness prevailed over the three-day celebration. Historians believe that on that Thanksgiving day almost 400 years ago the menu consisted of venison �?or deer meat �?roasted (not stuffed) turkey, wild fowl including ducks, geese, and even swans, fish, lobsters, pumpkin in some form, squash, beans, dried fruits, some sort of cranberry sauce, and dried Indian maize or corn. The sugar supply brought over on the Mayflower from England was nearly exhausted by the time of the first Thanksgiving, so it is widely surmised that wheat pudding may have been one of the only sweet dishes served. The Pilgrims used many spices, including cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, pepper, and dried fruit in the meat sauces they prepared. The best way to cook things in the 17th century was to roast them. Many of the meats were put on a spit and turned over a fire for six hours at a time to ensure that the meat was evenly cooked. They didn't have ovens so pies and cakes and breads most likely never made it to that first Thanksgiving dinner table in Plymouth. Today we enjoy delicious meals served in a warm home where it's quite possible a football game can be heard from a nearby television set. At the dining room table many Amercians may enjoy herb-roasted turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, creamed corn, candied yams, almond green beans, cranberry-orange relish, turnip, popovers with butter, pumpkin pie, mince pie, apple pie, and vanilla ice cream. Although there are many differences between the first Thanksgiving in 1621 and the holiday we celebrate today, the one tradition that remains constant is the celebration of being thankful. Thanksgiving Jokes Stuffed Turkey Baby Bruno was sitting in his grandmother's kitchen,  watching her prepare the Thanksgiving meal. "What are you doing?" Bruno asked. "Oh, I'm just stuffing the turkey," his grandmother replied. "That's cool!" Bruno said.  "Are you going to hang it next to the deer?"   A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy answered, "No ma'am, they're dead."   Thanksgiving Divorce A man in  Phoenix calls his son in  New York the day before Thanksgiving and says,"I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough. "Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her." Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this," She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up. The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "they're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."  Thanksgiving Dinner? We gathered together to eat some raw turkey Cuz Mother forgot you should thaw it out first. The gravy was lumpy and daddy was grumpy We stifled our laughs til we thought we would burst. The Jello was runny, the corn tasted funny, The biscuits you couldn’t cut through with a knife. The yam casserole overflowed the big bowl; This was the worst dinner I’d seen in my life Our mother had taken some pieces of bacon And crumbled them up in the cold pumpkin soup. The scalloped tomatoes were like scorched potatoes. She’d made enough slaw for a whole boy scout troop. Then mom started cryin, but there’s no denyin�?BR>Our Thanksgiving dinner had lost its appeal. Mom said, “That’s enough,”she got up in a huff, Then cleared off the table and served us oatmeal.  No Thanksgiving Dinner Tis the night before Thanksgiving and all through our house No turkey is baking; I feel like a louse, For I am all nestled, so snug in my bed; I’m not gettin�?up and I’m not bakin�?bread. No pies in my oven, no cranberry sauce Cuz I give the orders, and I am the boss. When out in the kitchen, there arose such a clatter I almost got up to see what was the matter. As I drew in my head and was tossing around To the bed came my husband, he grimaced, he frowned. And laying his finger aside of his nose, He scared me to death and I thought, “Here he goes!�? He spoke not a word as he threw back my quilt And the look that he gave was intended to wilt. So up to the ceiling my pillows he threw I knew I had had it, his face had turned blue. “You prancer, you dodger, you’re lazy, you vixen Out yonder in kitchen, Thanksgiving you’re fixin.�?/SPAN> But he heard me explain, with my face in a pout: "I'm just plain too tired and we're eating out!"