I'm pretty sure I'm among a tiny group who followed the Lund family's legal battles and thought of Thanksgiving. Maybe it's a group of one.
My mind shifted to that festive November holiday not because the Lunds have, for three impressive generations, provided our community with a bounty of cranberries and green beans, turkeys and stuffing, although they have done that.
It's because when I hear about family rifts big and small, I wonder with weird frequency: Who, then, will be invited to the Thanksgiving table?
We are led to believe that the greatest dramas, and resolutions, play out in boardrooms and courtrooms. But nothing in my mind comes close to the opportunity presented for contriteness, forgiveness and gratitude like Turkey Day in the dining room.
Who, then, will be invited?
Kim Lund was awarded $45.2 million for her share of the Lunds & Byerlys grocery chain, as my colleague Mike Hughlett reported in early June. A veteran teacher and the oldest of the four Lund siblings, she sued the family business and its CEO (aka her brother Russell "Tres" Lund III) to cash out of the company, a desire she had made known many times and for many years.
After the ruling, she expressed hope that "our family can move on and get back to the work that benefits the community."
Getting back to the work — piece of cake. Moving on? Well. The judge's order noted that Kim hasn't had a conversation with Tres in more than two years.