Monday, October 4, 2010

"You cut the turkey without me?....

In the movie,  "Avalon", the most memorable line is, "You cut the turkey without me?", Lou Jacobi sputters, as he walks in and sees everyone at the table. "You cut the turkey without me?" he repeats.
 
"Avalon", was written  and directed by Barry Levinson. He wove parts of his own life into the Baltimore-based story of a family founded by immigrant grandfather, (beautifully played by Armin Müller-Stahl). In Avalon, Lou Jacobi, as a permanently irked relative, who, arriving late for the Thanksgiving meal, bursts in the door just as the family has given up waiting . Filled with indignation, Jacobi barks, “What?! You cut the turkey? You cut the turkey without me?”
From that day on, the brothers never spoke to each other.   We wonder why something like the cutting of the turkey can cause such a reaction.  Maybe the holiday was so significant to this family of immigrants, that the cutting of the main attraction, the turkey, before everyone was there, was perceived as disrespectful. Maybe there was a series of things that bugged this irate brother and this was the pinnacle that put him over the top. To the cutters of the turkey, it was not a big deal.  But it was a big deal and the brothers never spoke again.
Sometimes in families, this can happen.  It's difficult to understand why family relationships dissolve over actions that the offended finds impossible to overlook, or somehow, to forgive and forget.  I can understand the irked relative's reaction.  Sometimes you say, "enough is enough".
Maybe some of you would like to see this movie.