Aside
Thanksgiving 1963

It was a time in history when most American families held high hopes for their future and looked forward to enjoying a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends. A few days before the holiday, an unforeseen tragedy struck the nationâPresident John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22nd. Although families from all walks of life were in mourning, most held that year’s Thanksgiving holiday in their hearts as they enjoyed a bountiful feast together and prayed for the healing of a stunned nation. Others were not so fortunateâthe ones who did not know where their next meal was coming from. They were the poor, the indigent, the invisible people. They were praying, and they were hungry.
“In Dog Bone Soup, Bette Stevens captures the feeling and images of growing up in hardscrabble times perfectly.” ~ John Clark, librarian and author
DOG BONE SOUP
A Thanksgiving excerpt
âBOYS, GET IN HERE. Hurry up!â
We set the groceries on the table and ran in to see what Mum was so worked up about.
âPresident Kennedyâs bodyâs back in Washington. Look, theyâre switching from the Washington to that Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas. The worldâs at a standstill and no wonder. I canât believe that someoneâs gone and killed the PresidentâŚSit down. Watch.â
âWhatâs for dinner?â I asked when I handed her the change.
âGood. We have more than a dollar left for the week.â
âWhat about dinner, Mum?â
âIâll fix us some supper, later. We had plenty of hotcakes to tide us over this morning,â Mum sat there, captivated by the news.
Coverage went on all day and long into the night. Willie and I went out to cut and split fire wood for the week. Then we grabbed our fishing poles and ran down to the brook. I figured if we caught something, we could have a nice fry for supper, even if I had to fix it myself.
Willie peeled and cut potatoes while I figured out how to mix flour and cornmeal and get the fish going. I set the fish on the stove to keep warm while I fried up the potatoes.
We never did get Mum away from the darned TV.
I wondered if it was like that for other families that night. I wasnât up to watching TV non-stop. Iâd pop in every now and then to keep track of what was happening though. I kept thinking about President Lincoln. Far as I could see nothing good came from fighting, killing and wars. Why couldnât people just treat everyone the way they wanted to be treated.
I got the washtub heated up before bed. The girls got their baths first, like always. Then Willie and I took turns. Thereâd be no hair cuttinâ this Saturday. There was only one good thing about this dayâDad didnât show up. I didnât want to think about that shotgun, but I couldnât shake that Saturday out of my head.
âââ
By the time I got up Sunday morning, the news was already runninâ non-stop. President Kennedy had big dreams for America. He hoped we would land on the moon; wanted Americans to be healthy; wanted Negros and poor folks to have rights like everybody else and he wanted to make peace with people in other countries. I wondered what would happen to those dreams now that he was gone.
Mum had the volume turned way up, but she wasnât watchinâ. She had the wood stove blazinâ, fresh biscuits warming on the stove top and scrambled eggs cookinâ on the griddle.
âIâve been praying for the Presidentâs family,â she looked up and whispered. âCall the kids and sit yourself down. Thanks for fixinâ supper last night, Shawn. Iâve been walking around in a fog with all thatâs been going on. I still canât imagine why anyone would want to kill the President.â
After breakfast, Willie and I ran out to milk the cows.
âNow you boys, bundle up real good. Itâs mighty cold out there.â
Two heifers started mooing real low the second they spotted us. The wind was blowing so darned hard, the pails were swinginâ all on their own, even with the weight of milk jars in them. By the time we got back to the house the sky was spittinâ out snowflakes big as quarters.
âLetâs fix us a cup a hot coffee, Willie.â
âMumâll have a fit if she finds me drinking coffee.â
I threw in a few small chunks of kindling and set the coffee pot on top of the stove.
âYou might like it. I mix it up with lots of milk. Weâll fix Mum a cup, too.â
âBoys, get in here quick,â Mum hollered. âSome night club owner named Jack Ruby just shot and killed that Oswald guy who shot President Kennedy!â
Bad news just kept coming. Cameras jumped from Washington to Dallas and back again every few minutes. We watched the casket being carried from the White House to the Capitalâs Rotunda. In between, they showed pictures of the Presidentâs family before all this terrible stuff happened. Caroline and John-John were just little kids and the family looked real happy doing things together.
Then, reporters started talking to the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson.
I poured up coffee and went in to watch the mess. My head pounded. I closed my eyes and tried to figure out how I was gonna get out of school next week. I had to talk to that recruiter.
Just as I downed the last of my coffee, I heard a knock at the door. âPlease donât be Dad,â I prayed.
I lifted the latch, opened the door and there stood two snow-crusted ladies that I recognized from church. They were holding baskets chock-full of all the things us kids had been dreaminâ about. One had a turkey, a ham and all kinds of canned goods. The other held a plate mounded high with cookies and two pumpkin pies. I even spotted a can of cocoa.
âCome on in and sit down. Iâll go get Mum.â
âWeâll just set these baskets on the table. We have three more deliveries and we want to get home before the roads get any worse.â
âMum, itâs ladies from church. They brought us baskets chock-full of food,â I hollered.
Mum and the kids must have flown out to the kitchen.
âWhat on earth are you doing here?â I thought Mumâs eyes would pop out when she spotted those baskets.
âThanksgivingâs only a few days away and weâre out making deliveries this afternoon. I think youâll find enough for a nice holiday feast, Mrs. Daniels. If thereâs anything else you need, just let us know.â
âYou have a wonderful Thanksgiving.â The ladies smiled before they turned to leave.
âYou take your damned charity baskets and leave âem somewhere theyâre needed!â
The ladies spun around, looked at one another, then at Mum, then at us, then at the baskets. One of them held her hands up clutching at her coat like someone might steal it. The shortest one looked like she was ready to bawl. When they picked up the baskets and turned to leave, my stomach clenched up tighter than a double fishermanâs knot.
Annie and Molly stood there crying. Willie stared at Mum with eyes as round as donuts, shakinâ his head.
âI canât believe you did that, Mum. You were rude and here we are starvinâ to death,â I scowled.
âI donât want to hear any sass from you. And you girls stop your whining. Weâre proud folks. Weâve never taken charity and weâre never gonna take it.â Mum shook her head and shuffled back in to watch TV.
I sat down at the kitchen table and didnât know what to make of it. Mum couldnât believe somebodyâd killed the President. Well, I couldnât believe Mum just killed our only chance of having a decent meal.
###
Today, more than 45 million Americans are living below the poverty line.Â
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/16/poverty-household-income_n_5828974.html
Most of them aren’t looking for a hand-out. They’re looking for a hand upâdecent jobs that pay a living wage.
Want more Dog Bone Soup?

- DOG BONE SOUP, A Boomer’s Journey (Literary/Historical Fiction/Ages 12-Adult) by Bette A. Stevens
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About the author
Inspired by nature and human nature, Maine author Bette A. Stevens is a retired elementary and middle school teacher, a wife, mother of two and grandmother of five. Stevens lives in Central Maine with her husband on their 37-acre farmstead where she enjoys reading, writing, gardening, walking and reveling in the beauty of nature. She advocates for children and families, for childhood literacy and for the conservation of monarch butterfliesâan endangered species (and milkweed, the only plant that monarch caterpillars will eat).
Stevens is the author of AMAZING MATILDA, an award-winning picture book; The Tangram Zoo and Word Puzzles Too!, a home/school resource incorporating hands-on math and writing; and PURE TRASH, the short story prequel to her dĂŠbut novel, DOG BONE SOUP, a Baby Boomerâs coming of age novel: and MY MAINE (Poetry & Photography Collection)âsee Maine through the eyes of a poet. You can find out more about the author and her books at http://viewauthor.at/BetteAStevens
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Written
on 12/25/2020