Years ago we used to go all out for Thanksgiving – invite family, old friends and new, and cook like crazy. The kitchen was wallpapered with to-do lists for each dish, most of which I’d start days or weeks earlier. We’d always sit down at one long elegantly set table and share what we were thankful for that year. Of course it was always a splendid, wonderful time, with delicious food and the conviviality and camaraderie of all. Inevitably those kinds of gatherings always seem to falter for one reason or another; Susan Dyer Reynolds writes about her experience and shares a delicious recipe perfect for your smaller, more intimate gathering.

Several years when faced with a dwindling crowd, we volunteered for those in need – and what a fulfilling experience that was. If you haven’t volunteered for Thanksgiving before, or if you’d like to again, check out the list below. San Francisco is a generous city, and there are plenty of opportunities available to make you even more grateful and your Thanksgiving more memorable. But before we can get to all that thanksgiving, we have to head to the polls on Nov. 8. To help with all the issues and candidates, Susan Dyer Reynolds, in her new column, “Reynolds Rap,” gives us the scoop on who and what’s good and why and why not, including a handy voter’s guide to snip and take to the polls. To lighten up the whole process, John Zipperer has devised a fun quiz to match the candidates with a one-line campaign platform. Just having made these choices will be reason enough to be even more thankful for Thanksgiving, no? In Arts & Entertainment, Ernie Beyl gives us some history on controversial funny man Lenny Bruce in North Beach as well as some insights into the social swim with Merla Zellerbach, and Sharon Anderson writes a musing travelogue about her trek to Oktoberfest in Munich.

There’s also a special treat this month: a gallery section by award-winning San Francisco- based photographer Michal Venera. His stunning photographs, mostly of Alcatraz, will cause you pause, contemplation and appreciation. We hope you enjoy this issue as well as your Thanksgiving holiday – however you choose to celebrate, we hope it finds you fulfilled and grateful in more ways than one.

THANKSGIVING VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES

Contact each organization for specifics, and remember to register early: these opportunities always fill up quickly.

S.F. City Impact
Thanksgiving Meal Delivery & Block Party
Saturday, Nov. 12 & Thursday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.
To help the hungry, lonely and poor, hundreds of volunteers are needed to prepare and serve meals, sort and deliver groceries and meals, and more. $25 tax-deductible registration required to help fund costs. 230 Jones Street (btw. Eddy & Turk), 415-292-1770, michellehuang@cityimpact911.com

The Salvation Army
Thanksgiving Meal Delivery
Thursday, Nov. 24, 8–11 a.m.
Help deliver 5,000 meals to those homebound with mental and physical disabilities and brighten someone’s holiday – receiving a meal from you may be their only human interaction. Vehicle and passenger required as well as preregistration. 445 Ninth Street (btw. Bryant & Harrison), Jaime Smith, 415-503-2720, www.salvationarmysf.org

Meals on Wheels
Senior Meal Delivery
Thursday, Nov. 24, 8 a.m.–2 p.m.
About 400 volunteers are needed to deliver hot food, kindness and a handmade placemat to seniors. 1375 Fairfax Avenue (near Mendell), Leslie Nipps, 415-343-1325, lnipps@mowsf.org

Tenderloin Tessie
Thanksgiving Meal Preparation & Service
Contact for specific dates & times
Feeding the elderly, disabled, low-income families, the homeless, and anyone without a place to go, Tenderloin Tessie welcomes your help. First Unitarian Church, 1187 Franklin Street (at Geary), Michael Gagne, 415-584-3252, www.tenderlointessie.com

Little Brothers/Friends of the Elderly
Elder Phone Calls & Office Help
Nov. 5, 10, 15 & 19
Baked Ham Donation
Through Nov. 21
Thanksgiving Eve Meal Assembly & Office Help
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Thanksgiving Day Event Help & Elder Visits
Thursday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m.–2 p.m.
Package food and small favors for home visits, deliver a traditional dinner, or help in the office for seniors who would otherwise be alone. Eight-ounce water bottles and plastic bottles of Martinelli’s apple cider also accepted. 909 Hyde Street (near Pine), Suite 628 & Temple Emanu-el, 2 Lake Street (at Arguello); Lisa Stefani, lisa@littlebrotherssf.org, 415-771-7957

Glide Memorial
Thanksgiving Meals Preparation & Service
Thursday, Nov. 24, 7 a.m.–8:30 a.m. & 9 a.m.–2 p.m.
Join dozens of volunteers to chop, dice, mix, slice, and prepare hundreds of turkeys and all the fixings for those in need. 330 Ellis Street (at Taylor), 415-674-6080, volunteer@glide.org

E-mail: editor@northsidesf.com