Pass the Pie?
During this season of giving thanks, Thanksgiving that is, I recall the pumpkin pie incident of a few years ago that took place at our local warehouse club. That year, for the first time, we were not having home baked pies, and we had decided to purchase them instead. My husband had meant to pick them up earlier in the week, but he wasn’t able to do it. Now time was running out, and it was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
At last my husband had a break, and rushed to the large warehouse club to pick up our pumpkin pie. He was unprepared for the news that the pie section had been picked clean of pumpkin pies, as well as, any other pies they had for sale that day. Happily, one of the bakers told him they were baking more pumpkin pies as they spoke, and if he came back at 6 PM, he could get one.
Has anyone ever seen the old “Turkey Drop” segment of the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati? A promotional give away for the radio station went bad, one in which they dropped live turkeys from a helicopter over a crowded shopping mall. Too late, they discovered that
turkeys couldn’t fly. Instead of free gifts winging down from the sky, the turkeys landed like sacks of wet sand. The public was both horrified by witnessing it, and up-in-arms against the station. The radio employees returned shell-shocked from the sight, and felt lucky to escape with their lives as the crowd turned into an angry mob wanting to avenge the turkeys.
Like lambs to the slaughter, we decided to send out daughter and son to pick one up.
Memories of that show came flooding back when my children returned, much later than they should have, with quite a tale. Although they arrived at the bakery section much sooner than the appointed pickup time, they discovered the pies had been brought out early, and all of them had been sold. The baker said more pies were due out in 45 minutes, and people were already lining up for them.
My children joined the huge line, only to witness absolute chaos break out when the fresh pies came out of the kitchen. People rushed forward attempting to make a grab for them. The bakers tried to make everyone stay in the line, but it was fast turning into a mob. The employees were trying to enforce a one pie per person limit, which was met by cheers from some, and loud complaining from others.
As time went on, the mood of people in line became increasingly hostile. Accusations of cutting in line were hurled by snarling people towards others around them. Tempers among those waiting rose to such a fevered pitch, my kids were afraid some were actually going to start trading blows. While the evening drug on, and more people arrived clamoring for pies, the mood became very ugly.
After many hours in the line, and waiting through more than one cycle of pies baking and being brought out, my son and daughter received a pumpkin pie. They said they felt lucky to have left there in one piece, let alone to have a pie in hand. What took place at the warehouse club that night was unlike anything they had ever seen.
The irony was not lost on any of us that these pies, the thing that had become such a bone of contention, were going to be used at a celebration devoted to being thankful to Our Creator for our blessings. Or that the night before, His creation almost resorted to violence to get the dessert for said celebration.
Although not everyone devotes the fourth Thursday in November to spiritual thought, a good many do, including our family. We never thought we would be thanking God our children left the warehouse club bakery safe and unharmed, but that year we did.
As is often the case, the passing of time can allow the humor of these “adventures” to surface, and that is what has happened in this situation. We now have a running joke asking our kids if they want to go to the warehouse club the night before Thanksgiving to get a pumpkin pie. I am sure you can guess their answer!
This week, on the Monday before Thanksgiving, my husband was in that same warehouse club. The pies were fast flying out of the bakery section, but he was able to snag one. While he was checking out, another customer saw him in line and demanded, “You have a pumpkin pie, where did you get it?!”
He told her he had just picked it up in the bakery. She hurried away saying, “they were completely out of them just a little bit ago. I have to get one.”
After that, my husband asked the cashier if he was glad he wasn’t working in the bakery. The man told him he had been asked, but he didn’t want to. He was glad they didn’t make him, especially since the bakers were staying until 3 AM making as many pumpkin pies as they could….
I wish all of you a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. And if you are getting your pie from a warehouse club, my wish is that you get there quickly, and Godspeed!
