Giving Thanksgiving Thanks
Sitting in his room, awash in the glow that comes from a fresh viewing of Beowulf in 3D with the Minneapolis Movie Bears, perkk was reminded of his need to notify his friends that he would not be hosting his regularly scheduled "Sci Fi Friday" this week. For you see, this particular Friday had the misfortune of being situated in the midst of a national holiday of extended weekend proportions.
It was time for the annual great turkey consumption - the bird, not the country; and not the withering illness, but the feasting upon said bird (although it was common knowledge that one could feel ill after consuming too much of the prepared bird). Although most of the hullabaloo centered around a dinner with his family to be held the day before Sci Fi Friday; popular demand for both the host and others had, over the years, accumulated into a complex interwoven list of social requests that filled the whole 4-day weekend, and often threatened additional adjoining days as well. It was not an unpleasant time, just a busy one.
An unnamed double-breasted domesticated turkey, heretofore known as "The Bird", was to be the centerpiece dish of honor for this year's family meal. The Bird was 25 weeks, 2 days, 7 hours, and 2 minutes old, and no older. Despite much religiously fueled debate upon the topic, it was commonly if begrudgingly agreed that this span of time was measured from hatching, not laying nor artificially facilitated inception. What was not contested was that despite any amount of headless flapping, decapitation was readily accepted as the de facto time of death. The Bird had enjoyed a lifespan roughly 1/20th of that of other less domesticated and single-breasted turkeys. It never knew love, but it never knew disease or hunger either. It could be argued that The Bird also never knew a fear from predators, if one overlooked the farmer.
The Bird has been born & raised, and dispatched & smoked in Oklahoma; only to be later sent to Minnesota. It wasn't that Minnesota or Oklahoma were known for particular excesses of or demands for turkey; but rather that the Okie relatives felt compelled by tradition to send one each year to their Northern kin, resulting in a kind of postmortem reverse migration.
But this year's limelight was to be shared with the stage itself, perkk's mother's newly remodeled kitchen. "The Kitchen" had been years in the dreaming, and finally, months in the making. The predictably overly detailed construction stories were anticipated with mixed feelings, but they would be endured with familial loyalty. Guests, always a diverse lot, would be made to feel welcome and sated. Take-home care packages of leftovers were practically a given.
Most odd was the custom of feigning shock & delight at each subsequent incarnation of the remains of The Bird in the days to follow. In the universe of odd holiday foods, clearly Fruit Cake was the winner, but a heavy contender for runner-up was Surprise Turkey Surprise.
Current Definition: Canberry Sauce (info)
It was time for the annual great turkey consumption - the bird, not the country; and not the withering illness, but the feasting upon said bird (although it was common knowledge that one could feel ill after consuming too much of the prepared bird). Although most of the hullabaloo centered around a dinner with his family to be held the day before Sci Fi Friday; popular demand for both the host and others had, over the years, accumulated into a complex interwoven list of social requests that filled the whole 4-day weekend, and often threatened additional adjoining days as well. It was not an unpleasant time, just a busy one.
An unnamed double-breasted domesticated turkey, heretofore known as "The Bird", was to be the centerpiece dish of honor for this year's family meal. The Bird was 25 weeks, 2 days, 7 hours, and 2 minutes old, and no older. Despite much religiously fueled debate upon the topic, it was commonly if begrudgingly agreed that this span of time was measured from hatching, not laying nor artificially facilitated inception. What was not contested was that despite any amount of headless flapping, decapitation was readily accepted as the de facto time of death. The Bird had enjoyed a lifespan roughly 1/20th of that of other less domesticated and single-breasted turkeys. It never knew love, but it never knew disease or hunger either. It could be argued that The Bird also never knew a fear from predators, if one overlooked the farmer.
The Bird has been born & raised, and dispatched & smoked in Oklahoma; only to be later sent to Minnesota. It wasn't that Minnesota or Oklahoma were known for particular excesses of or demands for turkey; but rather that the Okie relatives felt compelled by tradition to send one each year to their Northern kin, resulting in a kind of postmortem reverse migration.
But this year's limelight was to be shared with the stage itself, perkk's mother's newly remodeled kitchen. "The Kitchen" had been years in the dreaming, and finally, months in the making. The predictably overly detailed construction stories were anticipated with mixed feelings, but they would be endured with familial loyalty. Guests, always a diverse lot, would be made to feel welcome and sated. Take-home care packages of leftovers were practically a given.
Most odd was the custom of feigning shock & delight at each subsequent incarnation of the remains of The Bird in the days to follow. In the universe of odd holiday foods, clearly Fruit Cake was the winner, but a heavy contender for runner-up was Surprise Turkey Surprise.
Current Definition: Canberry Sauce (info)