Temptation Avoided

In bygone days I might well have succumbed to the temptation. 20-lb. tom turkeys that had been priced at 99¢ / pound were marked down by $10, i.e. they were half-priced.

Getting the turkey would have involved a one-day obligation to prepare, roast, and carve the bird. And to what end? To add 20 pounds of leftovers to those already in the refrigerator.

Tangible objects--turkeys, computers, cars, houses--are not only assets but liabilities. They require a commitment to use, consume, maintain and repair.

The cost of the $10 turkey markdown greatly exceeded the benefit when one assigns a slightly positive amount-even $2/hour--to one's time to extract value from the purchase. I looked at the toms wistfully, then moved on.

Happy Thanksgiving

The turkey's halfway done. It needs to be turned and basted.

The hen is smaller than the birds we have bought in years past, but it's just us and there will still be enough leftovers to last through the weekend.

One element of the holiday hasn't changed: we have much to be thankful for, and family is a big part of that attitude of gratitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Talking Turkey

Our 15-lb. hen cost 99 cents/pound.

The cost of Thanksgiving dinner is going down. [bold added]

The average price for a turkey this holiday season is projected to be down for a second year in a row, said the American Farm Bureau Federation in its annual report released this week. The lower cost for the headline attraction looks to cut costs for those hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, but some favorite side dishes will remain stubbornly expensive for shoppers.

The Farm Bureau projects the average price for a Thanksgiving turkey to fall 6.1% to $25.67, or $1.68 a pound, this year...But cheaper meat is only part of the story, as the cost to make many family-favorite side dishes continues to rise. For example, fans of mashed potatoes may find the cost for that dish a little steeper. A smaller North American potato crop this year due to adverse weather issues and a change in consumer demand has the U.S. potato price up 7.6% year over year, said commodities research firm Expana in its own report issued this month, citing data from the USDA.

Prices for processed goods also are on the rise. The Farm Bureau said that it expects prices for a 14-ounce package of stuffing mix to increase by more than 8% from last year to $4.08. The price for a dozen dinner rolls also is expected to rise by more than 8% to $4.16.

Even worse for those with a sweet tooth, prices for some pies may be increasing, with Expana’s Thanksgiving Pecan Pie index up 8% from last year, due mostly to higher prices for pecans that are offsetting cheaper costs for sugar, vanilla and butter.

Overall, the Farm Bureau forecasts the cost of the average Thanksgiving meal for a group of 10 people at $58.08. That’s down 5% from the previous year, and down 9% from the record of $64.06 set in 2022, the highest since the Farm Bureau began its yearly assessment in 1986.

Feeding ten people for $58.08 sounds incredibly cheap until one realizes that the Farm Bureau has assumed that most of the dishes have been made from scratch.

Cost reductions aren't enjoyed by city dwellers, who tend to have small Thanksgiving gatherings and opt for convenience over cost. We will roast our own turkey, however, and take special enjoyment from its $15 cost, which will be spread over meals throughout the weekend.

Gratitude Weekend

It was the day of turkey reckoning. As we had noted previously, turkey was not on the menu for Thursday. However, the ingredients for a traditional Thanksgiving meal had been sitting in the refrigerator for nearly a week. Roasting the bird had been deferred, not cancelled.

And so it was that the turkey entered the oven at 8 a.m. It was cooked at 225 degrees Fahrenheit and required minimal oversight. We had dinner at 7.

There was no need to say again our gratitude for the big things that we were thankful for. Today, the end of gratitude weekend, we just gave thanks for the turkey (and gravy and stuffing and cranberry sauce and...) and the company gathered 'round.

Thanksgiving, 2023

(WSJ photo)

Like many others, we're not making a turkey today, but this is ridiculous:

[Kimberly Darling] forgoes the familiar turkey in favor of an alligator she traps on one of her many hunting expeditions, then she brines, smokes and wraps it in bacon before serving her guests.

“People walk in and they’re like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s a literal alligator. What did we sign up for?’” she says.

But the mild taste and tender texture can’t be beat, adds Darling, a 40-year-old nurse anesthetist who lives near Chicago.

I retract my statement. This is not ridiculous. This is America. What a country.

Thankful for the Memories

Today we are thankful for our memories of those who have walked the way with us.

We are thankful that we have become better at distinguishing the important from the unimportant.

And we are thankful that we have learned not to let the unimportant stuff bother us as much.

The Grace of God

(LA Times photo)

The Coastal fire in Laguna Niguel is nearly contained, and no more houses have been destroyed since Thursday.

My brother, his family and home are safe; they're lucky to have been spared despite living close enough to the flames that a change in the wind would have put them in danger.

Every year wildfires have destroyed hundreds of California homes.

Whether the structures are big or small, on the top of the hill or on the flatlands, very expensive or less expensive (none are cheap), the faces of the displaced are the same.

(LA Times photo)

Years of scrimping and saving, getting a place just the way they wanted it, and building memories with people they'll never see again, are gone in the billowing smoke.

The circumstances aren't that different that I can't imagine their misfortune happening to me.

I think, there but for the grace of God go I.

Turkey Day, 2021

It's been 40+ years of trial and error, and it bore fruit in yesterday's turkey.

Think of all the possibilities:

Fresh or frozen?

With stuffing or without?

Turn the bird?

Wrap the turkey in foil?

Change the temperature during roasting?

Brine beforehand?

Rub with spices and/or oil?

Three hard-to-make side dishes were store-bought.

Each of the above in turn has many options. Stuffing recipes are innumerable, temperature adjustments can be high to low or vice versa, how long before turning the turkey over, if at all, etc.

My wife's late aunt had a reliable method for keeping the meat moist---cover the turkey with a wet paper shopping bag, replacing it every hour as it dried out. We stopped using that technique when supermarkets switched from paper to plastic.

Here's the 2021 recipe. On Tuesday wash the fresh turkey, pat dry, and season all over. (I used salt, pepper, and garlic.) Leave uncovered in the refrigerator until ready to cook. On Wednesday evening rub with butter and roast in oven, breast-side down, at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. Turn the bird and roast at 400 for 20 minutes. Pour 2 cups wine or apple cider over bird. Adjust the temperature down to 170 degrees and roast for 12-20 hours until inner thigh temperature reads at least 160 degrees. Baste if skin appears dry (I only did this once). After removing turkey from oven, allow at least 30 minutes before carving.

My limit was one plate plus a second helping of turkey.

I had to save room for the pumpkin pie.

I hope you and your loved ones had a Happy Thanksgiving.

We Won't Be Starving

Last-minute Thanksgiving shoppers could find everything in stock at Costco today.

In fact there's a surfeit, glut, abundance, plethora and every other synonym for surplus, of turkeys at 99 cents a pound.

I meant to buy a 12-pounder last Friday but only a 20-pound bird was in the display. Spooked by reports of food shortages, I grabbed the tom.

It does not require a crystal ball to envision lots of turkey a la king and turkey sandwiches in the near future.

Pumpkin Pie: Diminishing Marginal Digestibility

Costco bakes a decent pumpkin pie--you can't beat the $7.99 price--and your humble blogger picked one up last week for Thanksgiving dinner.

On the day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday, there were dozens of Costco pumpkin pies available for $3.97.

Normally, I would have considered taking a few to the local food banks, but none of them are accepting donations in kind due to the coronavirus.

I was tempted by the 50% markdown to get another one for our table, but who was I kidding? We still hadn't consumed most of last night's pie.

Still feeling the after-effects of Thanksgiving dinner, I passed; $3.97 was too high a price for a second unit. The economics term is something like "diminishing marginal digestibility", but if it's not, it oughtta be.

Climbing the Wall of Worry

When we went around the table and listed the things that we were most grateful for this year, I included the stock market. Financial matters are not as important as our health, families, or friends, but they do make a difference in well-being. And for us (largely) retired folk, our ability to recover from setbacks is limited, so we're indeed grateful that we've dodged the bullet this time.

Whether or not one is glum about the economy, COVID-19, or politics, the markets signal that the clouds are lifting.

Upbeat trial results for coronavirus vaccines developed by Moderna Inc. and the duos of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE and AstraZeneca PLC and the University of Oxford are reordering the market’s winners and losers, prompting wagers that the U.S. economy will return to normal more quickly than anticipated.

2021 is just around the corner. Hang on tight, we've almost made it.

Thanksgiving, 2020

I'm repeating last year's Thanksgiving post, which itself is a copy of the Wall Street Journal's 1961 editorials that are republished annually. Given the increasing hostility toward the American mythology, it may be that the essay's days are numbered. I hope not, because that it is the day I will stop subscribing.

The language of the 17th century is from a distant, unfamiliar perspective, but so to a lesser extent is the essay from a mere half-century ago.

The Desolate Wilderness

(WSJ image)

Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof:

So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb. XI, 16), and therein quieted their spirits.

When they came to Delfs-Haven they found the ship and all things ready, and such of their friends as could not come with them followed after them, and sundry came from Amsterdam to see them shipt, and to take their leaves of them. One night was spent with little sleep with the most, but with friendly entertainment and Christian discourse, and other real expressions of true Christian love.

The next day they went on board, and their friends with them, where truly doleful was the sight of that sad and mournful parting, to hear what sighs and sobs and prayers did sound amongst them; what tears did gush from every eye, and pithy speeches pierced each other’s heart, that sundry of the Dutch strangers that stood on the Key as spectators could not refrain from tears. But the tide (which stays for no man) calling them away, that were thus loath to depart, their Reverend Pastor, falling down on his knees, and they all with him, with watery cheeks commended them with the most fervent prayers unto the Lord and His blessing; and then with mutual embraces and many tears they took their leaves one of another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them.

Being now passed the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before them in expectations, they had now no friends to welcome them, no inns to entertain or refresh them, no houses, or much less towns, to repair unto to seek for succour; and for the season it was winter, and they that know the winters of the country know them to be sharp and violent, subject to cruel and fierce storms, dangerous to travel to known places, much more to search unknown coasts.

Besides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wilde beasts and wilde men? and what multitudes of them there were, they then knew not: for which way soever they turned their eyes (save upward to Heaven) they could have but little solace or content in respect of any outward object; for summer being ended, all things stand in appearance with a weatherbeaten face, and the whole country, full of woods and thickets, represented a wild and savage hew.

If they looked behind them, there was a mighty ocean which they had passed, and was now as a main bar or gulph to separate them from all the civil parts of the world.

And the Fair Land

(Getty image via WSJ)

Any one whose labors take him into the far reaches of the country, as ours lately have done, is bound to mark how the years have made the land grow fruitful.

This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way no array of figures can measure and so in a way past belief of those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America.

And a traveler cannot but be struck on his journey by the thought that this country, one day, can be even greater. America, though many know it not, is one of the great underdeveloped countries of the world; what it reaches for exceeds by far what it has grasped.

So the visitor returns thankful for much of what he has seen, and, in spite of everything, an optimist about what his country might be. Yet the visitor, if he is to make an honest report, must also note the air of unease that hangs everywhere.

For the traveler, as travelers have been always, is as much questioned as questioning. And for all the abundance he sees, he finds the questions put to him ask where men may repair for succor from the troubles that beset them.

His countrymen cannot forget the savage face of war. Too often they have been asked to fight in strange and distant places, for no clear purpose they could see and for no accomplishment they can measure. Their spirits are not quieted by the thought that the good and pleasant bounty that surrounds them can be destroyed in an instant by a single bomb. Yet they find no escape, for their survival and comfort now depend on unpredictable strangers in far-off corners of the globe.

How can they turn from melancholy when at home they see young arrayed against old, black against white, neighbor against neighbor, so that they stand in peril of social discord. Or not despair when they see that the cities and countryside are in need of repair, yet find themselves threatened by scarcities of the resources that sustain their way of life. Or when, in the face of these challenges, they turn for leadership to men in high places—only to find those men as frail as any others.

So sometimes the traveler is asked whence will come their succor. What is to preserve their abundance, or even their civility? How can they pass on to their children a nation as strong and free as the one they inherited from their forefathers? How is their country to endure these cruel storms that beset it from without and from within?

Of course the stranger cannot quiet their spirits. For it is true that everywhere men turn their eyes today much of the world has a truly wild and savage hue. No man, if he be truthful, can say that the specter of war is banished. Nor can he say that when men or communities are put upon their own resources they are sure of solace; nor be sure that men of diverse kinds and diverse views can live peaceably together in a time of troubles.

But we can all remind ourselves that the richness of this country was not born in the resources of the earth, though they be plentiful, but in the men that took its measure. For that reminder is everywhere—in the cities, towns, farms, roads, factories, homes, hospitals, schools that spread everywhere over that wilderness.

We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.

And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out from Delftshaven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this autumn be thankful for a fair land.

A Turkey of a Dish

Still dithering over the sourcing of our Thanksgiving dinner (this year there have been strong pleas to order takeout to support struggling restaurants), I purchased the ingredients last Thursday.

Except for the bird itself, most of the dishes just require heating in the microwave. We'll cook the curkey because I like having leftovers in case people drop in to munch on while watching football.

After decades of experimentation, and more than a few failures, I'm going with the low-heat method, which is very forgiving if the turkey is left in the oven too long.

This Thanksgiving trend-watchers expect more turkey disasters than usual:

Public officials have issued blunt warnings or orders for Thanksgiving during the pandemic: Don’t travel and keep gatherings small. That means many people who have skated for years as guests without cooking Thanksgiving dinner are having to face making the holiday meal for themselves this year...

The Turkey Talk-Line expects an influx of callers “who are actually preparing their Thanksgiving all by themselves for the very first time,” said Carol Miller, a [Butterball] supervisor.

“It could be the auntie who always took the pies to the Thanksgiving meals,” she said. ”She did the Easter ham and really didn’t worry about the turkey.”

It could be someone who is staring into the cavity of a raw turkey for the first time.

“Maybe you’ve never looked for the giblets in the turkey before,” Ms. Miller said.

The first time one tries to duplicate a recipe from written instructions or even a YouTube video rarely results in a passable dish, and I do speak from personal experience.

The good news, dear reader, is that this year the only victims of the attempt will be the few in your household instead of members of a large family gathering....And there will be more leftovers, too.

Thanksgiving Before Christmas

It's not technically a present because they were paid for by the recipients, but to two members of the household it felt like Christmas because of the arrival of two iPhones 12 Pro MAX. Once they're connected to speedy 5G, they'll be the cat's pajamas.

As for your humble blogger, I'm still very appreciative of the two-year-old iPhone XS MAX, which is entirely adequate to handle all the music, video, and game apps acquired with Apple One earlier this month.

Stretching out the enjoyment of new things, rather than partaking of them all at once, makes for a happier life.

On the Bright Side We Won't be Fighting Over Politics

Norman Rockwell repast: in the past

Here's another norm that 2020 has flipped over:

It's better for your student to stay in the basement.

many families will welcome home a college student for Thanksgiving...we must ensure that colleges do not unwittingly turn students into ticking time bombs unleashed upon the nation’s transportation hubs and dinner tables.

There's nothing that harshes your marshmallows more than COVID-19.

No, Johnny, you can't go outside to be with your friends. How about playing videogames the whole weekend?

Thanksgiving, 2019

I've been reading the Wall Street Journal since 1973. It has run the following Thanksgiving posts since 1961.

The language of the 17th century is from a distant, unfamiliar perspective, but so to a lesser extent is the essay from a mere half-century ago.

The Desolate Wilderness

(WSJ image)

Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof:

So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb. XI, 16), and therein quieted their spirits.

When they came to Delfs-Haven they found the ship and all things ready, and such of their friends as could not come with them followed after them, and sundry came from Amsterdam to see them shipt, and to take their leaves of them. One night was spent with little sleep with the most, but with friendly entertainment and Christian discourse, and other real expressions of true Christian love.

The next day they went on board, and their friends with them, where truly doleful was the sight of that sad and mournful parting, to hear what sighs and sobs and prayers did sound amongst them; what tears did gush from every eye, and pithy speeches pierced each other’s heart, that sundry of the Dutch strangers that stood on the Key as spectators could not refrain from tears. But the tide (which stays for no man) calling them away, that were thus loath to depart, their Reverend Pastor, falling down on his knees, and they all with him, with watery cheeks commended them with the most fervent prayers unto the Lord and His blessing; and then with mutual embraces and many tears they took their leaves one of another, which proved to be the last leave to many of them.

Being now passed the vast ocean, and a sea of troubles before them in expectations, they had now no friends to welcome them, no inns to entertain or refresh them, no houses, or much less towns, to repair unto to seek for succour; and for the season it was winter, and they that know the winters of the country know them to be sharp and violent, subject to cruel and fierce storms, dangerous to travel to known places, much more to search unknown coasts.

Besides, what could they see but a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wilde beasts and wilde men? and what multitudes of them there were, they then knew not: for which way soever they turned their eyes (save upward to Heaven) they could have but little solace or content in respect of any outward object; for summer being ended, all things stand in appearance with a weatherbeaten face, and the whole country, full of woods and thickets, represented a wild and savage hew.

If they looked behind them, there was a mighty ocean which they had passed, and was now as a main bar or gulph to separate them from all the civil parts of the world.

And the Fair Land

(Getty image via WSJ)

Any one whose labors take him into the far reaches of the country, as ours lately have done, is bound to mark how the years have made the land grow fruitful.

This is indeed a big country, a rich country, in a way no array of figures can measure and so in a way past belief of those who have not seen it. Even those who journey through its Northeastern complex, into the Southern lands, across the central plains and to its Western slopes can only glimpse a measure of the bounty of America.

And a traveler cannot but be struck on his journey by the thought that this country, one day, can be even greater. America, though many know it not, is one of the great underdeveloped countries of the world; what it reaches for exceeds by far what it has grasped.

So the visitor returns thankful for much of what he has seen, and, in spite of everything, an optimist about what his country might be. Yet the visitor, if he is to make an honest report, must also note the air of unease that hangs everywhere.

For the traveler, as travelers have been always, is as much questioned as questioning. And for all the abundance he sees, he finds the questions put to him ask where men may repair for succor from the troubles that beset them.

His countrymen cannot forget the savage face of war. Too often they have been asked to fight in strange and distant places, for no clear purpose they could see and for no accomplishment they can measure. Their spirits are not quieted by the thought that the good and pleasant bounty that surrounds them can be destroyed in an instant by a single bomb. Yet they find no escape, for their survival and comfort now depend on unpredictable strangers in far-off corners of the globe.

How can they turn from melancholy when at home they see young arrayed against old, black against white, neighbor against neighbor, so that they stand in peril of social discord. Or not despair when they see that the cities and countryside are in need of repair, yet find themselves threatened by scarcities of the resources that sustain their way of life. Or when, in the face of these challenges, they turn for leadership to men in high places—only to find those men as frail as any others.

So sometimes the traveler is asked whence will come their succor. What is to preserve their abundance, or even their civility? How can they pass on to their children a nation as strong and free as the one they inherited from their forefathers? How is their country to endure these cruel storms that beset it from without and from within?

Of course the stranger cannot quiet their spirits. For it is true that everywhere men turn their eyes today much of the world has a truly wild and savage hue. No man, if he be truthful, can say that the specter of war is banished. Nor can he say that when men or communities are put upon their own resources they are sure of solace; nor be sure that men of diverse kinds and diverse views can live peaceably together in a time of troubles.

But we can all remind ourselves that the richness of this country was not born in the resources of the earth, though they be plentiful, but in the men that took its measure. For that reminder is everywhere—in the cities, towns, farms, roads, factories, homes, hospitals, schools that spread everywhere over that wilderness.

We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.

And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out from Delftshaven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this autumn be thankful for a fair land.

Something to Do With It

It was coincidental but thematically appropriate that our high school seniors spoke from the pulpit on Thanksgiving Sunday.

Landon talked about his lifelong battle with food allergies and his gratitude for the support from his family and doctors. He recounted how he was able to help a friend who had an anaphylactic shock while away on a trip.

Lydia first spoke about the little things she was grateful for--the paper to write her speech!--and then moved on to weightier matters, like how gratitude for her life led to her multi-year commitment to alleviating destitution in Latin America.

Young people experience emotional highs and lows, but when they are raised with an attitude of gratitude there's much less chance that bitterness and resentment will dominate their waking moments. I am sure that growing up in the church had something to do with it.

What We Signed Up For

It's the week before Thanksgiving, which meant it was time to take food boxes to CALL Primrose in Burlingame. CALL Primrose is a Methodist and Presbyterian joint venture that has been dispensing food since 1983.

Last year, CALL Primrose was able to serve over 27,000 individuals in need by directly providing more than 51,000 bags of groceries.

Unlike 2018, when our parish was swamped with donations, we were only able to deliver the four boxes we signed up for.

The ladies at the CP office were grateful. Exceeding our commitment would have been nice, to be sure, but not more important than honoring it. It's a good rule for charity and life; don't make a lot of promises, but keep the ones you do make.

Happy Thanksgiving

And now for something beautiful: a flash orchestra playing Beethoven's 9th in the Omotesando Hills shopping center in Tokyo. The musicianship and acoustics are outstanding, and the sight of Japanese "shoppers" singing the Ode to Joy in the original German might have moved the master himself.

Happy Thanksgiving!

CALL Primrose

Processing receipts a week before Thanksgiving

In 2017 we signed up for and delivered four boxes to the CALL Primrose fill-a-box-feed-a-family Thanksgiving food drive.

This year we committed to four containers again and were overwhelmed with offers to help. We delivered nine (9) boxes this afternoon.

It will be tempting to commit to, say, six boxes next year, but we'll have to think about it.

When the demands increase, charity ceases to be a joyous activity and becomes an obligation (yes, many traditions view charity as a moral obligation, but specific deliveries at a time and place feel like a secular debt).

Besides, it's always better to under-promise and over-deliver.