Thanksgiving dinner a true delight

[Sister]

While you're waiting for the turkey melatonin to kick in, I'd like to tell you how thankful I am to be living in the United States and specifically in Park Place.

First of all, last Saturday evening, we enjoyed one of the loveliest Thanksgiving dinners in our Community Center. It was prepared by residents and enjoyed by as many as we could cram into the room. Management provided the turkeys and pork roasts and our great cooks did everything else. Sharon Miller was the force behind the event, as well as so many volunteers it is impossible to list them all here.

When I said to Sharon as I rolled out the door, "Thank you so much for doing this," she simply smiled and said, "It was my pleasure." That's the way things are here.

My husband and I just returned from a tour in Eastern Europe. For 12 days, we traveled and tried to understand how life has been there, and how it still is, behind the former Iron Curtain. It certainly makes one grateful for what we have at home.

We landed in Budapest, Hungary and subsequently visited Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania.

In Budapest, we saw some beautiful architecture in that busy city. We enjoyed the views from both sides of the Danube River, but the sight that still sticks in my mind was the 60 bronze shoes along the river that represented the Jewish women and children who were marched to the river by the Nazi forces in World War II, made to remove their coats and shoes (useable clothing for the invading force) and were shot or pushed into the river to drown. Budapest had the largest Hungarian Jewish population at that time and, amazingly, it still does; no matter what happens to people of any belief, it appears they survive it.

In Croatia, we saw hundreds of homes and businesses that had been demolished by bombs and mortars during the Homeland Wars (after the Communist regime). As we rode through the countryside, there were triangular signs every once in a while which signified land mines that had not been detonated.

We had a lunch in a small village in Croatia where our hostess had lost her home and her sister to bombings during the Croatia-Serbia war. She escaped with her life to Germany, only to discover she had no home when she returned. However, she, along with many of her countrymen, buried many possessions in the land around her home. When she returned, she dug them up, restoring them and the family history.

There are some great events coming up, as Park Place (and you) prepare for the holiday season. Watch for information on the Dec. 6 cookie swap. There is no other singular event that can give you back as much as you give. On Dec. 9, the park will have a soup and sandwich luncheon and Dec. 15, a Christmas dinner. Information on all these events and more will be on the Park TV Channel 15 and in your December newsletter. Be ready for your holiday fun!