Get Your Turkey On

LisaW was bemoaning her Thanksgiving dilemma: She is happy with the traditional Thanksgiving menu, daughter wants macaroni and cheese. Daughter will bring mac and cheese but Lisa is having Thanksgiving away from home and has only a camp stove to warm up all the sides. Traffic jam in the food prep area! MathMom came through with a great solution: bake the side dish at home, wrap in a couple of bath towels and transport in an insulated cooler. Tailgater tactic.

The mac and cheese vs. non-mac and cheese Thanksgiving controversy reminded me of the history of Thanksgiving with Raj’s family, which I relayed to Lisa the other day:

My first Thanksgiving,1972, with Raj’s  family at his Mom and Dad’s house was nearly identical to my family’s menu except for the stuffing, everybody’s stuffing is a bit different.  But as the years went by and the kids grew up (Raj is the oldest of 9) everyone brought their favorite side dish that wasn’t part of the original menu: broccoli-rice casserole, funeral potatoes, spinach balls, sausage balls, 7 layer salad, corn casserole, noodles and crumbs, baked squash, brussel sprouts (yech!), Oreo pie, cheesecake, cupcakes and on and on. I’m not making this up. Not in place of anything but along with the traditional spread.

Once someone brought something it became a new tradition and they brought it every year. The buffet spread started in the kitchen and eventually  encroached on the dining room where the huge table turned into another buffet station and the 2 sideboards became a dessert display. The immediate family eventually numbered 34 counting spouses and grandkids. And then the grandkids started to get married and have their own families. Many of them still come to “grandpa’s house” – now Uncle Bill’s - for Thanksgiving and Christmas and now they’re bringing their own contribution.

But in all those years, with all those people and all that food, no one has ever brought mac and cheese. Odd.

It’s nice that everyone wants to contribute but honestly, somebody does have to orchestrate the menu and who brings what. Otherwise you end up with total anarchy and before you know it someone forgets to make the turkey and gravy.

“Where’s the meat?”

…and it’s replaced with enchiladas, lasagna and butter chicken. Or worse, a charcuterie board.

So let’s be careful out there with the Thanksgiving menu. Grab control and rein it in. The next generation depends on it.

Defense Of The Indefensible

A.I.  may have its limitations but imagination isn’t one of them.

The BBC apologized for making stuff up too and they didn’t even need A.I. But they still have their defenders.

BBC Defenders:

'Mr Trump is a Bad Man. So its perfectly OK to lie about his specches'

'But how do you know he's a bad man?'

'Just listen to his speeches!'

A self-serving, circular, worthless argument.

— Latimer Alder (@latimeralder) November 15, 2025

 

Unplanned trip to the dentist this morning so wish me well.

Yes, It’s That Time of Year Again

Time to remember the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. If you’ve never seen one of these tankers steam down a river on it’s way to the ocean or one of the Great Lakes you can’t quite picture how massive they are.

The Edmund Fitzgerald was 729 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 39 feet high. When launched, it was the largest ship on the Great Lakes and had a gross tonnage of 13,632 tons

The thought of a monster that size going down in a storm is inconceivable  And yet it did, in a sudden storm generating winds of over 100 MPH.

One computer model drawing on historic weather data, shows how frigid air coming down from Canada collided with storm system coming from the southwest, creating hurricane-like conditions that turned the water “from calm to ferocious in just minutes,” as Bacon writes, with waves that may have spiked to more than 50 feet.

I‘ve been panicked by storms of far less velocity on the Great Lakes. The crew’s terror must have been unfathomable; they were all aware of the imminent danger.

For enthusiasts, this is a recent, interesting article about the tragedy: In the Wake of the Edmund Fitzgerald 

The mighty ship, immortalized in song by Gordon Lightfoot, sank 50 years ago on Lake Superior. Our reporter spent a week on a Great Lakes freighter that survived the storm.

For Bacon, a veteran journalist from Ann Arbor, Mich., the “untold story” is also the beauty, danger and sheer scale of the lakes.

“Why was I surprised to learn the five Great Lakes are bigger than all New England, plus the state of New York?” he said. “I grew up on these lakes, and I did not know that.”

And now 50 years have passed, Gordon Lightfoot has been lamenting it for 49 of those years. That’s enough time to introduce a little levity; husband-wife text exchange a week ago.

 

For Jettie, You Are So Missed

Jettie in Japan, I think

I confess, I had forgotten, but Coolbrew reminded me that one year ago today we lost our Jettie.

 

One year ago today she left her mortal coil and joined Our Lord in the Heavenly Realms. It has been a tumultuous and grief filled year or two for many of us here on Motus.

So I thought of an idea of a post today (just a suggestion) as a remembrance of our unique ‘Blue Dog’ Jettie. Maybe for all of us to share stories about her to keep her memory alive. I know personally that behind that gruff exterior was the most beautiful and loving heart. And I am sure that anyone that really knew her would feel the same.

I agree, what a wonderful idea. Jettie touched so many of us and it was wonderful, and heartbreaking, to receive her Christmas gifts and cards knowing she had passed on. So indeed, along with what ever else is on your mind today take a minute to remember our lady of the north, our self appointed dragon slayer. She truly was a diamond in the rough.

Christmas ornament form the Blue Dog

Sorry this is so late in the day but I didn’t read my email this morning, as I often do.

Don’t Change Your Beliefs, Change the Universe

Democrats don’t believe this:

But we certainly must give them extra credit for trying.

  Michael Mann’s (bogus) hockey stick that started the myth of global warming:

Gender-fluidity is real:

And, currently, “real communism has never been tried.”

Zoran would like to fix that. And what better petri dish to do it in than New York City? What could go wrong?

This public service announcement was brought to you by the Ayn Rand Society.

“You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.” Ayn Rand

Protests Will Continue Until Morale Improves

“No Kings” rallies on Saturday were a big hit. Millions of useful idiots turned out to protest Trump rather than enjoy some college football. That’s how you know they were serious.

 

I can’t help but wonder where all these people were when Obama was trampling over the Constitution. Probably watching football.

The Left is so bad with memes they have to appropriate ours

Some day they may come to realize that their problem isn’t that Trump is a king, but that they’re all pawns, regardless of their color. But I doubt it.

So by all means, let the protests continue. It seems to improve the morale of the troops.

Peace Through Strength

The hostages have been released. Hamas has been brought to their knees. Peace in the Middle East is actually possible. All this because of President Donald J. Trump.

Thanks to the man known for the Art of the Deal all 20 of the living hostages have been released from their barbarian captors.The Middle East is now positioned to trade chaos for commerce and terrorism for trade. The entire region could be transformed.

It is sad that nearly half of America will not recognize this historical moment for the momentous event it is due to TDS and their irrational deep hatred for a man who has worked for this peace since 2017. He has pursued, and won, Ronald Reagan’s strategy to victory.

The world thanks our president. We don’t deserve him.

Halloween Is In 3 Weeks; Merry Christmas!

Is it too early for Halloween jokes?

For the third year in a row the hummingbirds won the Halloween costume contest

I think not, as retailers have already moved on to hawking Christmas decorations and trinkets.

And I see another Federal judge has determined that the President cannot exercise the powers granted to him. I heard one talking head say “If he (Trump) wants to stop the chaos he should stop defunding the police.” On what planet do these people even reside?

Have a good week, pray for peace and enjoy the probably-last-of-the-warm-weather if you live north of the Mason-Dixon line. As an aside, how many of our historically illiterate youth do you think have a clue what the Mason-Dixon line is?