The Ghosts of Thanksgiving Past: 2007

November 2012

Chris and I have been together for nearly 8 years and 7 Thanksgivings. This past Thanksgiving went VERY well but we have had some that did not quiet turn out as well...

Thanksgiving 2007 (Get ready... This is one for the history books)
The Klingsicks
Shawnee, OK

Let me set the stage first: Chris and I lived in a small 1200 sq ft house in Shawnee, OK and our two beagles, Abbey and Oxford, had just had their 1st batch of 6 beagle puppies. We were trying to have an early lunch (12:30ish) so Chris and dad could watch the Cowboys game on TV. Chris' friend Chris Calvert (Same one from 2005) and his wife Marnie wanted to come over and see our new puppies as they were huge beagle fans.

Chris and I were ready... To host that is! This was a "Klingsicks" Thanksgiving and we decided we were going to FRY A TURKEY. We had been reading and studying up on it and decided we could handle it! All of us, my parents included, were so excited to try something new... and who doesn't like fried meat? Chris and I went out and bought the outdoor turkey fryer, oil and utensils and were ready to fry this bird.

We woke up early on Thanksgiving morning and got all the preparations ready to fry the turkey. This was an outdoor fryer (Like the ones you see on TV and movies with those crazy Cajuns from Louisiana) and it was below freezing in Shawnee on that day. We knew it was going to be cold but we had NO IDEA it would be that cold. We had a steep driveway and you were not supposed to fry in the garage in case it all caught on fire so we had to move to the street (This should have been our first clue that something was about to go TERRIBLY wrong)!

Around 10am Chris and my dad went outside to start heating up the oil in the fryer. Again it was below freezing and the wind was blowing very hard (It is OKLAHOMA people). Poor Chris and dad, it took them nearly 20 minutes just to light the fryer. Once they finally got it lit they were so cold they began to take shifts watching the oil start to heat up. By noon the wind was blowing so hard and fast that Chris had to go into the garage and find a large box to place around the fryer so the flame would not burn out.

It was only supposed to take 40 minutes to heat the oil up in the fryer (Even outside). Two more hours had past (2pm) but the oil had finally heated up to the required temperature on the thermometer. Chris and dad went out into the street like heroes and placed the bird into the oil to fry. Almost immediately the temperature of the oil and fryer dropped over 50 degrees. They both stood out there for a few minutes and soon realized they were too cold to both stand out there in the cold temperatures and wind so they went back to taking shifts.

After 2 more hours had passed (4pm) Chris and dad were both icicles and the meat was barely warmed through at all. The flame had blown out numerous times and we had all but given up hope. Most of the rest of the side dishes had been sitting in the oven on "warm" or were awaiting to be put into the oven. We literally had nothing ready and we had been cooking/ preparing for over 6 hours. Dad said it was time to call it and go and get some meat from Denny's (The only thing open on Thanksgiving back in the day)!

Mom and Allison started trying to get all the side dishes ready, Chris tried to clean up the frying mess while dad and I went to Denny's to get some turkey meat. While Dad and I were gone, Mom and Allison had some troubles with the sweet potatoes. As dad and I arrived back at the house with the meat black smoke was pouring out the kitchen window and the front door as the smoke alarms were blaring as loud as can be. The juice from the sweet potatoes had boiled over and begun a fire (An actual fire) in the bottom of the oven. All of the puppies were inside in a crate just wailing and barking as loud and annoying as can be.

Finally around 5:30pm we set down to eat our Denny's turkey, dressing and burnt sweet potatoes. Almost immediately after the prayer was complete, we heard the doorbell ring and sure enough it was Chris Calvert and Marnie there to see the dogs. Chris and I got up from the table and tried to greet them and be social. My Chris explained the story to Chris and Marnie who laughed hysterically but encouraged us to go ahead and eat even though they were there. If you know Chris Davis, you know he didn't need their permission and had already downed a turkey leg. My family, on the other hand, was not so easy to convince it was OK to eat. I felt really bad and weird eating with them there and so did my parents. I think through most of this time Allison and Mom ate a little but Dad and I barely ate anything.

 

The cute little puppies!

 

About 20 minutes after Chris and Marnie arrived they wanted to see Abbey and Oxford (Our beagles and the parents of the 6 puppies) so they looked out the backdoor and saw them anxiously await some attention. Chris Calvert said "Why don't we just go out back and love on them while y'all eat". This sound like a wonderful idea so we agreed and they opened the back door. As soon as the back door opened Abbey rolled over for some petting while Oxford took two steps (Literally) and jumped up on our table with all the food. Before we could even realize it he had eaten most of the Turkey (From Denny's) and some other food. Rolls and side dishes were flying EVERYWHERE! While we were getting him off the table, Abbey jumps up and does the same thing. Six little puppies are trying to jump up and cant and all 8 dogs were just barking and eating like crazy. Dad is yelling and mom and trying to get them off the table while Allison is just laughing and possibly crying I don't remember! Finally we get both adult dogs off the table and back outside. But... the damage had been done. The table was covered in a big mess and all that was left was the burnt sweet potatoes (Oxford is a little picky so he did not eat those).

 

The culprits and masterminds behind the whole thing! (They look so innocent don't they!)

 

I am beyond embarrassed at this point and I start crying and go and hide out in the bedroom. Chris Calvert and Marnie almost immediately said good bye and left. We later found out that they sat outside in their car and laughed for well over 30 minutes. We were all hungry and tired and just wanted to eat. We ended up making sandwiches and eating those and chips for our Thanksgiving feast. If only we would have had a video camera... We would be rich!

 

Just another crazy Thanksgiving for Chris and Kellie!

 

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday on the calendar and looking back makes me realize why! We have had some very memorable Thanksgivings! I will NEVER forget some of them!

God is good... ALL THE TIME!