{"id":4826,"date":"2009-11-29T12:40:32","date_gmt":"2009-11-29T17:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4826"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:22:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:22:14","slug":"the-first-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4826","title":{"rendered":"The First Thanksgiving (by Storm)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Here is my answer to the November Chaps and Spurs challenge. As always hope you enjoy it.<\/p>\n

Rated: K+ \u00a0WC 2000<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The First Thanksgiving<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ben was anticipating this Thanksgiving Day with an abundance of hope. This was the first of what Ben hoped would prove to be a reason his sons could not refuse to gather the family together and count their many blessings. Blessings that Ben hoped would one day increase in number. He and his sons usually all gathered together for supper but it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep everyone around the table long enough to discuss more then what had been accomplished that day and what still remained to be done the following. Ben supposed that as far as Joseph was concerned he was young and sowing his wild oats and he usually managed to drag Hoss along with him.<\/p>\n

As far as Adam was concerned he knew what kind of a harvest was gathered from those kinds of oats. It was usually headaches and a day of feeling sick and tired. It wasn\u2019t that Adam didn\u2019t do his share of sowing, just that most of the time he knew how and when to have fun so that it wouldn\u2019t interfere with or affect his performance or work the next day. Oh Ben knew Adam was no saint just that he was and always would be a more mature devil then either of his brothers.<\/p>\n

Ben figured that since President Lincoln had saw fit to declare tomorrow, the last Thursday in November 1863 and every year hence, a day of national thanksgiving many places had decided to close in observance of it and that included the saloons. Ben\u2019s silent musings were loudly interrupted.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe next time you\u2019ll listen and do what I tell you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAw come on Adam, lay off a him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLAY OFF HIM? Hoss he nearly got a horn through his leg!\u201d
\nBen quickly joined his sons outside. \u201cWHAT is going on?!\u201d
\n\u201cYour youngest son nearly lost a leg today and all because he can\u2019t listen to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot anyone Adam just you! And pa it wasn\u2019t like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam raised his hands into the air. \u201cI give up! Go ahead and get yourself killed!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben called after his eldest son as he marched into the house and up the stairs. When that failed he turned to the two that remained. \u201cSo do you care to explain?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa it wasn\u2019t that close. He\u2019s just so uptight he can\u2019t see straight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked from his youngest to his mostly likely source of truth. \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell pa it wasn\u2019t as bad as Adam says\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSEE.\u201d Joe was always glad when he was vindicated.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026but it wasn\u2019t as safe as Joe seems to think either. Admit it Joe you could a been hurt if older brother hadn\u2018t jumped in when he did and distracted that bull.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you two go get washed up it\u2019s nearly suppertime.\u201d Ben followed his sons inside and closed the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa would it be alright if I went into town after supper?\u201d Joe was looking forward to a little distraction. He wouldn\u2019t admit it but that bull did get a little too close for his comfort.
\n\u201cNo Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut pa I don\u2019t want to have to spend the night having to look at him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph you have been in town every night this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah but I won\u2019t be going tomorrow. Isn\u2019t it bad enough that I\u2019ll have to spend the whole day with him tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n

Three heads turned as a door upstairs slammed and the him in question came storming down.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam where are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTown pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHEY.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJOSEPH. Adam don\u2019t forget what tomorrow is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam knew how important tomorrow seemed to be to his father and it helped cool down some of his temper. \u201cDon\u2019t worry pa I remember and unlike some I\u2019ll be home early. I just need to get away for a little while.\u201d
\n\u201cBe careful son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe watched his father close the door \u201cHow come he get to go to town!?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t push me Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not I just want to know why he gets to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I wrong or was it my understanding that you didn\u2019t wish to be anywhere near him. Since the last time Adam was n town was Sunday for CHURCH I think he\u2019s the one who should go, don\u2019t you Joseph?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe knew better then to try and push any further. \u201cYes pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood then go get cleaned up.\u201d<\/p>\n

After supper Hoss got the feeling that his father wanted to be alone with his younger brother so he quickly excused himself. He knew there would be some leftover pie in the kitchen if he got hungry later on so he didn\u2019t wait around for a second piece now.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe hated when his father called him Joseph. It usually meant a lecture was about to begin. \u201cYes pa.\u201d
\n\u201cDo you understand that Adam was only worried that something might have happened to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a kid pa!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter! Not now or when you\u2019re sixty, if he were standing right beside you or is a thousand miles away! If something were to happen to you Adam would blame himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa I am responsible for myself and my actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that Joe but you oldest brother has spent his whole life worrying about and watching out for you and Hoss. For most of your life he\u2019s been responsible for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was a kid that was okay but I\u2019m not one any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe I know that to you you\u2019re an adult but believe me son you still have a lot of growing up to do and I want you to think what it would be like to do so without your eldest brother.\u201d Ben could see the answer that was coming. \u201cAND don\u2019t give me any cynical answers. I want you to really think it over. Think how it would have been to grow up without your brother Adam. What would it be like to not have him here now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe went upstairs and despite his greatest attempts to not do as his father had said, it seemed as if once Ben Cartwright placed an idea into your head it just kept knocking around until you thought it out.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Ben heard the footsteps on the porch and prepared himself. He didn\u2019t know how his son would react to finding him waiting up. \u201cHello Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPa you didn\u2019t have to wait up.\u201d Adam knew it wasn\u2019t really so late and maybe his father hadn\u2019t really been waiting for him. Somehow he knew that even if he had come home only moments before dawn he would have found his father sitting in the chair waiting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d Ben returned his son\u2019s smile thankful he didn\u2019t seem to be defensive and ready to declare, much as his brother had, that he was a grown man and didn\u2019t need his father sitting up and waiting for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoodnight pa.\u201d Adam gave his father another grin and headed to the stairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know something Adam, I\u2019m beginning to believe the reason I\u2019m so all fired anxious to see you and your brothers settle down is because I figure once you do you\u2019ll have sons of your own and then you will be in a better position to understand the hell you and your brothers put me through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes pa. Goodnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGoodnight son.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Ben looked at each of his sons in turn. They were a blessing he was thankful for even when they acted as they had yesterday. \u201cWell this day has been put aside as a day for us to give thanks and I think that is what we should do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa can I go first?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben wasn\u2019t about to say he had meant quietly. \u201cYes of course Joseph.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe took a deep breath and began. \u201cAdam pa told me to think about what it would be like to not have you around\u2026\u201d Joe knew what his brother was thinking by the look on his face. \u201c\u2026yeah I thought the same thing too. I\u2019d be having a lot more fun. Pa knew that\u2019s what I\u2019d be thinkin too because he told me to really think about it and just like everything else, even if we don\u2019t want to, once pa puts a thought into our heads we do it.<\/p>\n

So I did. I really thought about it Adam and you what? I didn\u2019t think about all the fun I felt I\u2019ve missed out on or all the fights we\u2019ve had. What I thought about was all the things I wouldn\u2019t have if you weren\u2019t here. I thought who would have given me his best fishin pole after I\u2019d thrown mine into the lake cause I was mad because that fish had got away. Who would have taught me to tie a lasso or braid a bridle. Who would have argued with pa that I was old enough to ride my first drive and who would have gotten him to let me go by promising him he wouldn\u2019t let me outta his sight and he wouldn\u2019t let anything hurt me. Course pa don\u2019t need to know what other first you let me do when that drive was over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe saw the look his father gave Adam and smiled. \u201cPoint is Adam I remember when you went away to college. I remember missing you every day and I remember it hurting more and more each day you were gone until I decided I wasn\u2019t gonna miss you anymore. Instead I was gonna be mad at you for leaving me and hurting me like that. Guess maybe being mad at you just got to be such a habit that it\u2019s hard to break. Thing is Adam I know we\u2019ll never see eye to eye on everything but I know we do on one. We\u2019re brothers Adam and always will be. I know when it comes down to it I can always count on you to be there. Even when I don\u2019t want you to be but odds are I need you to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you done Joe?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen is there anything you would like to say Adam?\u2019
\n\u201cI thought you meant for us to give our thanks silently.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cADAM.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, you\u2019re right, I did spend a lot of time convincing pa you were old enough to do certain things. The problem is I have a harder time convincing myself. The only good thing is I know it\u2019s me who will usually be with you so I don\u2019t have to try all that hard. I can\u2019t help it Joe. I made a promise to watch out for you and it\u2019s one I have to keep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa tell him he can stop watching out for me so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, it wasn\u2019t me he gave that promise too.\u201d Ben knew Joe would realize the only other person Adam would give such a promise to would have been Joe’s mother Marie.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d Joe let out a sigh of defeat. \u201cGuess you better keep it then Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle brother I keep trying but I\u2019m not getting any younger so could you maybe try to make it a little easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow where\u2019s the fun in that. Besides it\u2019s me that keeps you young.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I know is like pa I hope someday you have a son just like you and then you\u2019ll understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Hop-Sing came in with the food the smiles on their faces became wider and before he could disappear back into the kitchen Ben got up and held out a chair for the last member of the family to sit in so this first Thanksgiving Day could begin.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0\u00a0Here is my answer to the November Chaps and Spurs challenge. As always hope you enjoy it. <\/p>\n

Rated: K+ \u00a0WC 2000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":3478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,23,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chaps-spurs","category-drama","category-challenges","wpcat-39-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-40-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":594,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12324,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12324","url_meta":{"origin":4826,"position":0},"title":"Thanksgiving Reflections (by DebbieB)","author":"DebbieB","date":"November 1, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 Ben remembers to give thanks for the blessings that made him a richer man than most. Rated:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (1,000 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Ben-dining.jpg?fit=327%2C322&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4518,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4518","url_meta":{"origin":4826,"position":1},"title":"Common Traits (by Storm)","author":"storm","date":"October 28, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0\u00a0This is another story I wrote for the November Chaps and Spurs challenge.\u00a0 The truth be told, did Adam really say that to Pa?\u00a0 And just what was it that Ben thought he heard? \u00a0 Rated:\u00a0 K+ \u00a01450","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2979,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2979","url_meta":{"origin":4826,"position":2},"title":"Captain Joe (by frasrgrl)","author":"frasrgrl","date":"November 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 \u00a0This story is in response to November's Chaps and Spurs Challenge. Joe on the high seas.\u00a0 Word Count: 546\u00a0\u00a0Rated: K","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/ponderosa-lj.jpg?fit=640%2C475&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/ponderosa-lj.jpg?fit=640%2C475&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/ponderosa-lj.jpg?fit=640%2C475&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6720,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6720","url_meta":{"origin":4826,"position":3},"title":"Conflict (by pbeaking)","author":"pbeaking","date":"April 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: This was written for the Chaps & Spurs Literary Challenge in April.\u00a0 Adam and Joe fight and Ben steps in to help. Rating:\u00a0 K+ 800","rel":"","context":"In "Action\/Adventure"","block_context":{"text":"Action\/Adventure","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/adam-joe-c.jpg?fit=245%2C230&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15473,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15473","url_meta":{"origin":4826,"position":4},"title":"Blessings of Friendship (by AC1830)","author":"AC1830","date":"November 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: After a last minute cattle drive that almost drove Hop Sing away, can the Cartwrights hope to have a calm Thanksgiving? Perhaps with a little help from some friends. 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