And I could finally hear it.

When I was growing up, we would always head to Grandmother and Grandaddy's house in Durham, NC for the Cruise Family Thanksgiving. It was like all Cruise Family celebrations: loud, warm, crowded, full of good food and a round of group therapy at some point. We are nothing if not free with our dysfunction. Anyhow, Grandmother and Grandaddy had this small 1960's television. The kind where it had two knobs on the left side to turn the channels, a button just below that you pulled out to turn it on and adjust the volume, and one five by four inch speaker just below that. The screen was maybe 19 inches and it was positioned at the right end of the couch.

As soon as we got to the house, I would run inside and turn the TV on in the hopes that I hadn't missed all of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Usually I had and even for what was left, I had to cram myself up in the corner of the couch with my ear plastered to the speaker just so I could hear Willard Scott announce the different balloons and floats. Eventually the volume was all the way up in competition with my aunts' and uncles' voices and my mom would demand that I turn it down. Year after year, this was my attempt at witnessing that great Thanksgiving tradition in the then mystical and enchanting place of New York City.

I've been to NYC now, several times and it is still a bit mystical and always enchanting. But this year I was able to hear every word of the parade in the Carters' living room on their giant TV and wonderfully loud speakers. And I even had a niece beside me to say, "Shhhh! I can't hear!"

Happiest of Thanksgivings to you and yours...