I hope all of you have a happy Thanksgiving.

My dad fell and was admitted to Queens just a couple of days before Thanksgiving in 2008. Last year, Meda and I joined him for lunch at his nursing home.

We found him at a table in the common room, with his name on a little sign that sat on the table top.

“Write a 4 on the sign,” he said, pointing to the paper in front of him. Meda dutifully wrote “4? in small print next to his name, then asked what it meant.

“That’s so they won’t forget our reservation,” he said.

In his mind, we’re in a restaurant where he had a reservation.

After a few references to the holiday, we quickly figured out that he wasn’t making the mental connection to “Thanksgiving” and all it entails.

First, he told us that they was expecting an eight-course Chinese meal to be delivered.

“It’s all supposed to be arranged,” he said, a little friendly conspiracy in his voice.

“Do you like Chinese food?” Meda asked, surprised by the idea.

“Some of it,” he responded somewhat noncommittally. Actually, come to think of it, that was probably a very honest answer.

We explained that it was Thanksgiving, and that they actually would be serving a special turkey dinner. That’s why we were there, along with other residents of the third floor and a handful of their family members. Not as many visitors as I had expected. Perhaps some people took their old folks home for the occasion. We weren’t prepared for that.

I did tell him the good news that Bonnie would be cooking a pie or two.

He asked quickly: “What kind?”

“Pumpkin,” I say, realizing again that the Thanksgiving connection isn’t being made.

But, obviously, it could be a lot worse.

He died a month short of another Thanksgiving. My mother and sister will make the trek out to Kaaawa later today, and we’ll celebrate this year without him.

For those on the mainland, there’s the question of the weather.

You probably noticed that I added a little glimpse of what the current weather is like in Kaaawa, over there at the top of the left sidebar.

I apologize to those now experiencing this big winter storm moving across the country.

Lucky we live Hawaii.

I sent an email missive to Jim Manke after noticing that the temperatures in the Portland, Oregon area were forecast to drop into the low 20s last night. Jim responded that I didn’t have to worry because he and Joan are back in Honolulu for a while. I have to confess that I missed his three days on HPR this week as visiting voice filling in for a vacationing Derrick Malama.