Cranberry Parting Glass

on changing traditions, atrophied nostalgia, and loss

The Dinner Table by Henri Matisse

I’m not a nostalgic person. But sometimes in late November, my atrophied nostalgia is resurrected just for a bit at the grocery store. I pause in front of a giant display of stacked cans of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce and I’m transported to a long-ago scene. A decorated table. Pilgrim salt and pepper shakers. Red solo cu…