This year, as I stood with my nephew staring at the turkey carcass following its carving, I shared with him an anecdote about Thanksgiving when I was his age. I grew up in a fairly poor household but we always had turkey for the holiday. But it was a bit of an extravagance for us so my mother was committed to getting everything the bird had to offer. After it was carved for dinner she would take the bones and pick off all of the remaining meat that did not get carved off. After her earnest meat plucking, she was still convinced there was meat she had missed or couldn't see. She took the remains and threw it in a pot of boiling water along with some token vegetables and called it turkey soup. I told my Mom that she needed to stop lying to herself. It's not turkey soup - it's skeleton juice. I swear if she had the skill she would have taken the carcass and made a vest out of it for me or my brother. Happy Thanksgiving, Ma.


Web Junkie

Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »

Steve's Supermarket Adventure (Cont'd)

...Or The Further Foibles of Ugly On a Stick Tonight, at the Safeway, I encountered the same cashier as I do most Saturday nights. Ugly On a Stick. Go »

You and Me, Albert

I just returned from an hour long wait at BestBuy to get a laptop we bought last week. I was there to retrieve it after the data transfer was completed by their Geek Squad. I stood in line watching four staff running around in circles helping one customer while me and six others in line watched stupefied. Go »

Information, Please...

Shortly after I obtained my driver's license, I got brave enough to travel a longer distance than the liquor store. I headed to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to visit the historic battlefield. I had always been a Civil War nut (short of reenactments) and Antietam I had seen recently (someone else drove). Go »

It's That Time Of Year

Snow time. I don't live in Fargo so I defer to Denise and others for even more horrible snow stories. But the forecast yesterday was for anywhere between 6 and 32 inches of snow depending on a whole bunch of meteorological variables and other mysteries. Go »

Strange Dreams

I dreamt that I had died and gone to Heaven. Brenda lived a few more years and then she passed. When she got to Heaven, she saw me and ran to me with open arms saying how much she had missed me. Go »

Flotsam & Jetsam

I always wanted to use that phrase. Crazy ticketers in England. Which anniversary is it appropriate to celebrate at this restaurant? Go »