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So, after plowing through mountains of food, sucking down gallons of beverages, and inhaling pumpkin pie and whipped cream, were you able to find the Maalox this morning?

You're thinking about your answer, so the Maalox must still be missing from your post-Thanksgiving diet...

Okay ... kick back and relax ... if you want to take a nap, be my guest. Don't snore too loud, though ... you might wake me up.

Thanksgiving, for many years, was not a holiday I celebrated.

When I lived in Ohio, the high school football playoffs were still being played. For several years, Thanksgiving was a travel day, as I headed to either Massllon or Canton to arrive at the game site at least 24 hours in advance.

If I didn't have a team to cover, I'd hit the road to North Carolina. My daughter Jennifer invited me Down East a couple times. She said dinner would be served at 6 p.m. ... I arrived at 5:55 and was welcomed with a sarcastic "Gee, you must be hungry..."

Jennifer believed in the urban legend, that I would travel any distance for a free meal. Well, actually, it was sort of true! For a while, I covered every honors banquet within 40 miles, if dinner was to be served. I am able to prove that not all baked chicken is created equal and that chocolate is the bomb, no matter how it is served.

For many other years, I lived in the Wilmington (Del.) and Philadelphia area, where high school football games were played on Thanksiving morning. Some of those contests -- all traditional rivalry showdowns -- started at 9 a.m., but none hit the gridiron later than 11 a.m.

They were fun to cover, providing it wasn't raining, snowing, or the temperatures were not in the high-teens or low 20s. There were some Thanksgiving mornings where heavy winter clothing was about as useless as wearing Hawaiian shirts and shorts with open-toe sandals.

(Football fans can get their mojos satisfied this weekend. There are games in Nevada, believe it or not. The Northern 4-A championship battle -- Reno Bishop Manogue vs. Reno McQueen -- is tonight at Damonte Ranch High School in Reno. Palo Verde will clash with Las Vegas at 1 p.m. Saturday for the Southern championship at Arbor View. The state title showdown is Dec. 6 in Reno).

Living in North Carolina was fun at Thanksgiving. Sure, there was turkey and all of that stuff, but also available for a gourmet's feast was barbecued pulled pork, collard greens, hush puppies, baked ham and boiled whole (but peeled) potatoes, butter and biscuits. Yams? I am not a fan ... sorry.

Watching football on television is always fun .. on Thanksgiving or a hazy, lazy day like today ... or Saturday ... and Sunday. It gives you a good excuse to brew some fresh coffee and scrounge through the leftovers for a snack. And don't forget the pumpkin ... okay, apple .. pie.

There were two more important things to remember. Wish absent family members a happy Thanksgiving (by phone ... not the impersonal Internet) and don't forget to have the Maalox handy.