Saving Thanksgiving

by Chris Aaland

The holiday that the Aaland family has dread is upon us. Last Thanksgiving was spent at Children’s Hospital in Denver as doctors and nurses fought valiantly but in vain as Shelly and my 6-month-old son, Gus, lost a two-day battle to a lethal virus.

Last Thanksgiving began for me in Norton, Kans., with my brother Billy and good friend, Jerry McBride, hunting pheasants and quail. It was supposed to be a weeklong trip to stock our freezers with gamebirds for the coming winter and to unwind after our busy fall schedules. I went with Shelly’s blessing. She knows how much hunting trips with my family and friends mean to me. And I know that there are a few places she’d rather be than in the middle of Kansas.

I can’t remember much about the Wednesday before last Thanksgiving. I know that I bagged two roosters and that Jerry and Billy fared well, too. I remember the shot I made just before sunset and the satisfaction I felt watching Luna retrieve the bird. I recall cleaning our day’s harvest in the field, watching the beautiful oranges, pinks and purples that only a high prairie sunset provides.  

And I recollect a few Boulevard beers at a local watering hole, playing pool with some farm kids who had returned home from college and jobs.

At about 4 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, the phone rang. Shelly had just given Gus CPR and restarted his little heart as ambulances rushed to our Durango home. I made the five-hour drive from Norton to Denver in a little more than three hours. It was the beginning of the worst few days of my life.

A few months ago, Shelly asked me if I wanted to return to Norton with my family for Thanksgiving. I did, but not without our 5-year-old, Otto, and her by my side. She agreed.

We loaded the Tundra last Friday morning with everything an outdoorsy family could need to get them through a six-day trek: hunting gear, warm clothes, food, water, beer, and, of course, electronic gadgets for Shelly and Otto to amuse themselves with. My parents and Billy beat us here by a full week. The Kansas drought wreaked havoc on the pheasant population, killing the vast majority of the 2012 hatch over the summer. Billy had but two quail to show for himself in six days of hunting.

But this journey was more than just a hunting trip. It was a chance to prove to ourselves that we could endure the most painful anniversary – an event that threatens to forever render Thanksgiving a day of mourning rather than a day of celebration.

The drive from Durango to Norton takes about 10 hours – or an eternity if you have a 5-year-old in the back seat. To pass time and mile markers, I had the iPod set on shuffle … 37,111 songs that could randomly pop up. So what finds its way into the mix just three songs in? Alejandro Escovedo’s “Evita’s Lullaby,” the version recorded in the KSUT studios and included on the station’s Roots & Rhythms Vol. 4.  

I was in the studio the day it was recorded, having driven the songwriter and his orchestra to Ignacio to help promote their Durango Acoustic Music show later that night. “Evita’s Lullaby” is a song Escovedo wrote about his mother’s last breath, as he envisioned his father sang to her.

It’s also the song that I sung to Gus as he took his last breath. I probably sung it to him six or seven times last Nov. 26 and we included it as the background at his memorial slideshow five days later.

And that’s the song fate chose to play for us as we pulled through the stoplight at Elmore’s Corner on the trip to wrestle back the holidays for our family? I skipped to the next tune before Shelly and Otto could recognize it. But its signature cello intro resonated through my brain the rest of the trip. Gus was singing it back to Daddy. And he saved the trip and, we hope, Thanksgivings for years to come.

I hope that each of you enjoys all the blessings that Thanksgiving has to offer.

Durango Massive Productions and the Abbey Theatre host a hip-hop blowout on Friday night featuring Epitaph recording artist The Coup, two-time Grammy winner Rahzel of The Roots, underground legend Ariano and local acts DJ Two Tone and Diabolical Sound Platoon. Fronted by Boots Riley, The Coup has refused to stand up to convention since its inception in 1991. They’ve spoken out against the Cheney-Ashcroft hysteria that followed 9/11 and toured the U.S. on the “Tell Us the Truth” tour with Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Tom Morello and Janeane Garofalo; visited South Africa for the World Conference Against Racism; and have played North America with the likes of Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against the Machine. Rahzel, of course, is the MC who specializes in beatboxing. In addition to his work with The Roots, he’s collaborated with Bjork and Mike Patton (of Faith No More), among others. Tickets include a complimentary beer tasting of suds from Ska, Carvers, Durango Brewing and Steamworks from 8:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Moe’s doesn’t stop for Turkey Day. Salsa Night happens from 8 ‘til close tonight (Thurs., Nov. 22). Mubda and Natasha spin tunes from 8 ‘til close Saturday, while the weekly Jazz Church rolls on Sunday.

Steamworks’ November Firkin Friday raised $730 for Annie’s Orphans. “Winter is the most challenging time for the shelter,” said Steamworks co-founder Kris Oyler, citing increased heating and food costs. For those who want to donate online, visit anniesk9orphans.org.

This week’s Top Shelf list shares the Americana that the Heartland offers:
- 4H Sheep Fry. The Norton kids serve up all-you-can-eat sheep testicles every year to pay for their trip to the National Western Stock Show.
- Cobblestone. The streets in downtown Norton have been paved with bricks since Day One.
- John Deere. Our farmer friend, Greg Sumner, must own 50 of the bright green tractors, combines, pickers and planters, not to mention hundreds of vintage John Deere toys.
- Helping strangers. When the skid plate came off my Tundra, a guy at a local factory dug out a bunch of bolts from storage and reattached it for us for free.

As your last breath hung forever were you dancing behind the beat? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.