Poor pups.

Here’s something to be thankful for: Remember Andy Didorosi, and the scrawny pit bull he found on the street a few days back? Probably not, because I underplayed the link here, so here’s the nutshell:

Andy is a guy I wrote about for Bridge. He got this crazy idea to open a bus company in Detroit, and that’s what he’s doing — shuttling barflies around on the weekends, keeping a few drunk drivers off the road, hosting a rolling party. So the other night, he finds this starving dog huddled by the side of the road. He tempted her onto the bus with a can of Alpo and started the work of figuring out what could be done for her. If you follow that first link, you’ll see she had a very tough few days — having recently given birth (puppies likely stillborn), she had mastitis, intestinal blockages and was starved down to bones and hide.

But they got her taken care of, and now she seems to be on the road back to health, gaining weight and strength. She’s Andy’s dog now. Her name? Andi.

Besides spreading the news within his own social network, he attracted some attention from the Free Press, which did a story. Now, you journos in the audience know that nothing opens readers’ wallets like a dog story, and the reporter included a link to the Paypal donation address. He ended up collecting several thousand more than he could possibly spend on Andi’s care, especially now that she’s out of the woods.

Last night, it came up on my Facebook — a new rescue. Those of you who aren’t on FB might not be able to see that page, which is about Angel, a dog even more abused and close to the edge than Andi. She needed emergency surgery tonight, and the last time I checked, it looked like she’s very close to death, but who knows? Andi was pretty sick a few days ago.

When a lot of people drop $7,000 and change into your bank account, you have to do the right thing. I’m glad Andy’s doing it.

And now that it’s Wednesday? I’m thankful the holiday is nigh. I’m getting the Friday after Thanksgiving off for the first time in years, and friends? I’m looking forward to it.

No links today, and happy Thanksgiving to all. I’ll be back Monday, unless I see some good photo posts between then and now.

Posted at 12:23 am in Detroit life |
 

94 responses to “Poor pups.”

  1. Dexter said on November 21, 2012 at 2:15 am

    Thank you..and Brian Williams of NBC News, and my daughters Sandi (Toledo) and Vanessa (Columbus) , and my friend Belinda and her husband Bryan (Cape Coral, Florida), for keeping me posted on all the dog rescue news I can stand. Like all dog lovers, I wish I could care for a thousand dogs in such dire straits. As it is, I did adopt a rescue dog last year, my Lab-mix Pogo, and we have a puppy mill Jack Russell Terrier as well, and a rescued feral cat we took in… in 2009.
    Brian Williams almost always gives us at least three or four happy dog stories every week, always ending his newscast that night , “That’s a GOOD dog!”
    Sandi rescued a Weimaraner pup two years ago from a woman who could not care for him and was forcing him to spend the whole day in a hot car. Just months ago Sandi’s man rescued a very nice pit bull from alongside I-75. They spent a ton of dough getting him healthy and placed him with their neighbors. That pit bull is just a great dog.
    I’m looking forward to seeing my 15 month old granddaughter and all the other humans and animals in Columbus, and Happy Thanksgiving to all. I get the turkey leg! 🙂

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  2. Deborah said on November 21, 2012 at 6:56 am

    Happy Thanksgiving to all. My husband arrived in Santa Fe yesterday so we’ll be busy the next few days. Little Bird is cooking the big feast with me only getting in the way.

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  3. brian stouder said on November 21, 2012 at 7:00 am

    Deborah – I like the sound of “busy”!!

    Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels to all nn.c’ers, trolls and lurkers included

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  4. Joe Kobiela said on November 21, 2012 at 7:17 am

    Glad the dog is ok. My first though was who keeps alpo in a bus?
    pilot joe

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  5. nancy said on November 21, 2012 at 8:18 am

    He got the Alpo from a corner store. Probably should have cleared that up.

    We were discussing pension problems in the comments yesterday. Right here is the poster girl for pension abuse in Wayne County, a story that makes steam roll out my ears every time I read it. Today, however, a little less steam, as it appears she’s been cut off from a pension that would have paid her $100K a year after EIGHT YEARS of service.

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  6. Basset said on November 21, 2012 at 8:21 am

    We keep cat food in the car just in case we see a hungry Kitteh… That, small roll of duct tape and a Leatherman tool, always at the ready.

    I have previously mentioned the rescue group that the B family is involved with, here it is again… Middle Tennessee Golden Retriever Rescue, Rescueagolden.org

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  7. Julie Robinson said on November 21, 2012 at 9:52 am

    I’m all too familiar with the plight of abandoned/abused animals, since I lived in the country as a girl and cats were frequently dumped near our house. It’s heartbreaking and hard work to rehabilitate them. Some would never come in the house, but at least they would stay overnight in the detached garage when it was cold. We would take our meat and grease scraps, make gravy, then pour it over a big dish of dry food for them. I’m a dab hand at gravy making as a result.

    Now both my kids have rescue animals, and Angel’s eyes have the same expression as my daughter’s little pooch, trust and hurt all wrapped up in one. Her Chica cannot get enough cuddling and attention, and fortunately Sarah can take her with her to church except on Sunday mornings. The kids in her youth group have adopted Chica as a mascot, and she spends those evenings happily running from lap to lap, reveling in their love. Okay, I’m a little misty now, but I just checked the page and it seems Angel had a good overnight, so happy news.

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  8. Judybusy said on November 21, 2012 at 10:30 am

    Lovely rescue stories. Our pup, Cora is a rescue, as are most of the dogs we see at the dog park we frequent.

    These days are sad ones in our household, though. My beloved cat, Rachel, is quite sick, and I’m preparing for the worst. She’s 17, and in order to find out exactly what’s wrong, I’d have to spend a lot of money, then treatment. For now, it’s antibiotics, a steroid, and coaxing her to eat. I adopted her from the Humane Society when she was six months old, and she’s a great kitty. She’s a one-person cat–me–and I so enjoy her company. She’s a great cuddler,and had none of the nasty anti-social behavior one can see in felines. She’s mostly grey with white paws and some on her face. There is a line of white that follows her mouth, so she always looks like she’s smiling. Well, thanks for listening. I know most everyone here has had to say goodbye to a much-loved pet, and it helps to talk about my little kitty.

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  9. Connie said on November 21, 2012 at 10:43 am

    All of our dogs have been rescue dogs, but nothing as bad as those stories. Nelly, the smartest mutt in the world was found in a Grand Haven parking lot, gained 10 pounds the first week, and loved us for many years. Most empathetic dog we’ve ever had. Not sure I got that word right.

    Dusty the old man Shih Tzu came to us from a foster home after having been passed through four homes due to his dislike for small children. Except for the fact that he pooped under the Christmas Tree his first night at our home, he was a loving dog who loved me the most.

    Our current dog, Molly the mad mini Schnauzer came to us at 5 months from a woman who had paid $500 for her and just didn’t like her. She sits half way up the stairs where she can see the driveway and the street and do her dog warning duties.

    I wish my life could handle more dogs. The last two summers I’ve had my daughter’s loving mutt Jax and when she comes to visit so does he. This week I think of both of them as being home for the holidays.

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  10. brian stouder said on November 21, 2012 at 10:45 am

    Our little kitties (Taffy and Winnie) are about 8 months old – and the girls love them.

    Hopefully, the kitties will have long lives, and the girls will have them well into young adulthood.

    And here is a Lincoln/trapped kitten story that is worth clicking, if only for the photo –

    http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/kitten-lincoln-statue-rescue-145728309.html

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  11. John (not McCain) said on November 21, 2012 at 10:53 am

    Not sure if the two incredibly adorable kittens we took in a couple of weeks ago count as a rescue. Our landlord’s son got them from a woman carrying them around in a box looking for a home for them, but if we hadn’t taken them they’d be headed for a shelter. We weren’t in the market for new cats, the last of the three we’d had for years died over a year ago and that was major trauma, but you can’t point kittens at me and use the word “shelter” regarding them and not have me take them. But they were perfectly healthy, mostly flea-less and nowhere near death, so I’m not sure “rescue” is the right word.

    Turns out to have been the best thing that’s happened to us in a while. Tallulah and Agnes* are from the same litter and love us as much as they do each other, and we’ve got the claw marks to prove it! I try to maintain my cynicism as much as possible, but I can’t get over what a difference a couple of cute animals can make in a house (not that we were unhappy at all).

    *We were told they were both female when we got them. Turns out Agnes is a guy, but we aren’t changing the name. He’ll just be like Alice Cooper.

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  12. del said on November 21, 2012 at 11:07 am

    Nancy, I worked with the poster girl for pension abuse’s lawyer who’s now representing her in her employment arbitration case against the county. Though he went to U Mich law school (and could’ve play the Distinguished role) he wasn’t above adorning his office with framed photos of his smiling self shaking hands with clients while holding oversized settlement checks.

    Danny and Sherri, as to your points in yesterday’s thread about pensions, I generally agree. Individuals investing for retirement is trouble — institutional management is much better. (TIA/CREF handles some employer 401k programs well by giving individual investors a range of managed choices.)

    But it’s also trouble to make defined benefit promises. Why do it at all? Who pays if it fails? Laying it all on taxpayers is a tough sell to those citizens who may never have been eligible for pensions themselves and will face their own financial issues in retirement. To the extent that pensions are guaranteed by the public (and it’s only to a small extent) the plans are like social security, with a key difference. With social security everyone pays in and everyone benefits, for the most part.

    Maybe social security’s gotta be ramped up, as it has been, in places like Germany. Or so I’ve heard.

    P.S. There’s my chit chat Danny … ,-)… let the games begin!

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  13. nancy said on November 21, 2012 at 11:18 am

    Before the games get underway, let me say Brian’s lost-kitten story reminds me of one from Columbus a few years back, when a stray got into the Ohio Theater and lived backstage for awhile until he was found. IIRC, he was making loud cat noises during a production of “Phantom of the Opera,” loud enough that the audience could hear. (And probably improved the theatrical experience overall.) When they finally caught him, he was of course named Phantom and adopted by someone who worked there.

    And Del, I was repeatedly told by various experts during my MPSERS reporting that pensions aren’t really the problem — actuarial science has them figured out, for the most part, as long as they’re properly funded and managed. (A big if, I know.) It’s health care that’s behind the current crisis — and a lot of these are basically Medigap policies.

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  14. Judybusy said on November 21, 2012 at 11:23 am

    I was very busy between the cat issues and work the last couple days, so missed my “like” button on Monday’s thread! Thanks, J.C.–it brought much-appreciated humor today.

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  15. LAMary said on November 21, 2012 at 11:25 am

    My three dogs and three cats are all from the shelter. They’re all good. Well, Amelia, the calico cat, does pee in inappropriate places from time to time just to be annoying. My black lab was in his last days at the shelter when I got him. He is my dog. He can read my mind. You all saw Max’s picture last week, and Poppy is on my facebook and linkedin pages because she’s so pretty and photogenic. Maybe I’m neurotic, but I feel bette about life with a bunch of friendly animals around. I think dogs are truly noble creatures and Albert, my handsome tabby cat, took out a rat who had chewed its way into the cabinet under the sink, neatly and efficiently. Now that space around the drain pipe is plugged.

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  16. Maggie Jochild said on November 21, 2012 at 12:17 pm

    John (not McCain) — I loved the names you gave your new kittens! Did you know their namesakes were once lovers, long ago? If not, what serendipity.

    Judybusy, I am really hurting with you over the idea of losing Rachel. Let’s hope the interim measures do the trick. You know how I struggle with my own non-eating misanthrope, Dinah. And now the new kitten, Scout, seems to be heading in the opposite direction, always pleading for a meal. Cats keep us humble, that’s my conviction.

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  17. candlepick said on November 21, 2012 at 12:29 pm

    Chestnuts—the edibles, not the adages—came up in yesterday’s comments. May I recommend a column about them in a great unsung cooking blog, Skillet Chronicles? http://skilletchronicles.com/content/

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  18. Peter said on November 21, 2012 at 12:36 pm

    Well, a happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

    I have a lot to be thankful for this year; I’m looking at the green side of the grass, I’m not eating out of a dumpster, I’m not living in a dumpster, and I’m not getting my health care out of a dumpster.

    Oh, and I’m thankful that Donald Trump is still hot on the pursuit of whatever he’s looking for – hope you find it buddy, and try some minoxidil; I’m thankful Paul Ryan will be taking acting cues from Snowzilla and will not be presiding over the Senate; I’m thankful – well I’m just thankful that I made it this far. Hope you do too.

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  19. John (not McCain) said on November 21, 2012 at 12:47 pm

    “John (not McCain) — I loved the names you gave your new kittens! Did you know their namesakes were once lovers, long ago?”

    I know they made at least one movie together, although I don’t think they appeared onscreen together. Despite the fact that it would make me very happy if it were true, I’m having trouble believing they actually were lovers. Seems out of character for Agnes Moorehead, although not for Tallulah Bankhead of course. I’d love to be proven wrong.

    BTW, kitten Tallulah is just as wild as the human one, even without alcohol. An absolutely unstoppable sultress (not a word, but it should be).

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  20. beb said on November 21, 2012 at 12:48 pm

    I always grinds my gears how management always gives themselves generous paychecks even as they are telling the workers that they’re being paid too much. When Mayor Bing hired a bunch of Vice-Mayors at exorbitant salaries he said ‘you’ve got to pay good money to get good workers.’ But that wisdom extends only to top management because the first thing he said about the city’s budget crisis was that workers were paid too much and demanded a 10% wage cut. Likewise pensions are manageable but only as long as the employer pays in to it the full funding it calls for. They never do then somewhere along the line complaint that they owe so much money to the Pension fund that they can’t afford to keep it up. That money was part of the worker’s compensation package. If they knew thee would be no pension they would have demanded much high wages instead. Cheating them of their pension is pure and simple theft.

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  21. Maggie Jochild said on November 21, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    I always heard (from California dykes the generation ahead of me) that Agnes had a fling with Tallulah as well as Barbara Stanwyck.

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  22. Scout said on November 21, 2012 at 1:23 pm

    Thank you for the happy ending dog stories. It’s a nice way to celebrate the upcoming day of gratitude.

    Judybusy, I feel your pain. My oldest kitty (Scout) is almost 18 and he is mostly fine, although too thin and occasionally disoriented. It’s a big celebration when he actually eats with gusto, like he did with a bowl of Trader Joe’s cat tuna last night.

    All our cats are rescue of some sort, whether I found them (or they found me) or from someone pleading with us to adopt to keep them out of shelters. We have 5.

    Happy Thanksgiving to all. The tofurkey is defrosting as I write, and when I get home from work the pie baking shall commence.

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  23. MichaelG said on November 21, 2012 at 1:38 pm

    Happy Thanksgiving to all. I have the feeling that most of us are pretty lucky and have a lote to be grateful for. Eat hearty.

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  24. Sue said on November 21, 2012 at 2:22 pm

    If your old, skinny cats can tolerate it, I recommend supplemental baby food (chicken, beef or turkey, not ham) daily. It’s standard sick kitty food so I figure it’s not going to hurt him. I split one jar between three chunkies (one teaspoon each, so no hurt feelings) and one skinny guy (he gets the rest of the jar). I noticed within a week that skinny guy’s fur was much softer and while not big, he is a little more squishy when I hug him.
    They lovelovelove the baby food.

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  25. Judybusy said on November 21, 2012 at 2:30 pm

    Thanks for the love, you guys! I will look for kitty tuna food at TJs and try the baby food trick, too. The vet sent me home with some special high-cal, very tempting food, and Rachel can be persuaded to eat it. I have to fight off the other two cats and the dog, who keeps lickin’ her chops!

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  26. ROGirl said on November 21, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to the kitties and dogs, too.

    Even though I’m not really a dog person, I enjoyed this.

    http://www.sanger.dk/

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  27. del said on November 21, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    Survey for Nancy Nall land:

    What do you use your household rags for?

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  28. Minnie said on November 21, 2012 at 2:53 pm

    Second Sue on the baby food for ailing cats. Many years ago a vet recommended this – specifically lamb baby food – for our cat who was recovering from hip surgery after being hit by a car. (I’m a firm believer in indoor kitties now.)

    Household rags get reused for cleaning, naturally; old towels become kayak towels; old sheets wrap plants to protect from freezing. Then there are the comfy old clothes that I continue to wear even if they do have a couple of thin spots.

    Enjoy harvest home tomorrow.

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  29. coozledad said on November 21, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    del: Stuffing pillows and bolsters, and filling the hollows when reupholstering furniture. The big problem is getting the fabric into small enough shreds.
    If anyone knows of a better shredder than a pair of scissors and a pint of liquor,I’d be interested to hear it.

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  30. coozledad said on November 21, 2012 at 3:31 pm

    Whatever you do, don’t listen to anyone who says you can use a paper shredder. It takes a long time to get an old pair of socks out of one of those fuckers.

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  31. Dorothy said on November 21, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday so I am thrilled to be on the road to see my daughter & my youngest sister. Hope you all have a glorious celebration!

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  32. Sue said on November 21, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    Too-thin washcloths become dishrags.
    Old sheets and some clothes are ripped up for rugs. Old bedspreads are either used as winter covers outside (if they’re raggedy or need repair) or given to the humane society. Humane Societies love your old but intact towels, blankets and bedspreads, folks.
    Old towels are used for the pets in a couple of places; one of our cats likes to sit on a wooden cabinet that we noticed he was scratching when he jumped up.
    Other things become general-purpose throwaways inside and out – paint wipes, cat puke cleanup rags, something to wrap around your hand when it has to go into icky places.
    Not exactly a rag, but if you use lemon oil (or orange oil) and beeswax combos for polishing wood furniture and paneling, save your hole-y socks. They go right over your hand and they’re good for applying and polishing. Then you just throw them away.

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  33. Jolene said on November 21, 2012 at 4:31 pm

    del, why do you want to know?

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  34. Little Bird said on November 21, 2012 at 4:45 pm

    Old sheets are shortly to become rag rugs at my place.

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  35. del said on November 21, 2012 at 5:22 pm

    Jolene, to settle a domestic dispute. My wife wouldn’t let me take our “weakest” dish towel for use as a napkin/dropcloth as I ate a meal in my car. (I know I’m a BAD man). Anyway, she tried to insist that I take a “rag” from the basement. I demurred. I told her that I use rags with cleaning solvents and for work-room and garage projects, not with food. Well, she told me that the family I’d grown up in was screwed up and we had it all wrong — rags are NOT for such work-room projects, rather they’re for cleaning up kitchen type messes only. And she told me that if I ever used a rag with paint or cleaning solvent or anything like that I’d better throw it out instead of putting it in the wash.

    So there. Yes, I think I know something about rags.

    But though I trust myself I try to make allowance for her doubting too, thus the survey.

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  36. MichaelG said on November 21, 2012 at 5:29 pm

    I use dish towels for dish towel type stuff. I use car rags for car rag type stuff. Otherwise, I don’t use rags much.

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  37. Sherri said on November 21, 2012 at 6:00 pm

    Rags that are things like old t-shirts are used for projects. Rags that are old towels live in the laundry/mud room and both cars, because as wet as things are around here, towels are handy to have around.

    Del, I would have let you use the weakest dish towel for that purpose, but I’m not taking sides in your marital dispute!

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  38. del said on November 21, 2012 at 6:06 pm

    Sherri, I think you said something about your 25th anniversary recently, congrats. I’m coming up on 20. And, like Brian S, I’m married to a Pam and we have a 14 (and 12) year old.

    When we were courting my wife deferred to me. But over the course of our marriage, however, the balance of power has Shifted.

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  39. del said on November 21, 2012 at 6:20 pm

    Or was it Charlotte’s 25th anniversary?

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  40. Charlotte said on November 21, 2012 at 7:05 pm

    Not my anniversary — proud spinster here (although going on 5 years with my Builder).

    The elder kitty diets make me think of my 101 year old granny who is going into the final lap. My aunt said on the phone the other night that they’re just letting her eat whatever she wants at this point which is mostly KFC (I know!? but …) and ice cream. She can’t taste anything anymore. Can’t hear, can’t see, can’t taste — and a heart that just keeps ticking along. Sleeping a lot, unless Molly gets spooked and calls the hospice people upon which my deaf grandmother manages to get herself up, dressed, and sitting in a chair like what? who me?

    We’re planning a teeny tiny quiet Thanksgiving in which my beloved will cook the turkey until the white meat is dry and stringy like he likes it, and will whip the potatoes, and I will make a veggie or two and I’m thinking an apple galette. Then Friday, a fun dress-up party for a friend’s 60th birthday.

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  41. Deborah said on November 21, 2012 at 7:05 pm

    I put of reading the pup stories because I knew they would make me cry. Drove up really high into the mountains today, absolutely beautiful even if all the leaves are off the aspens by now. Came back, read the sories and had myself a good cry.

    Brian, *blush*. Not what I meant, but then again my husband and I have been apart for almost 2 months…

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  42. Deborah said on November 21, 2012 at 7:06 pm

    Off not of, stories not sories. Geez.

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  43. Sherri said on November 21, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    My 25th wedding anniversary is a week from today, Del, thanks.

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  44. Connie said on November 21, 2012 at 7:12 pm

    Cleaning rags do not live in the kitchen. Old dish towels live under the sink for kitchen mop ups and yes, bibs. Especially if I run home for lunch and eat soup in my work clothes. Whereas old towels are renamed dog towels and are used for…..

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  45. MarkH said on November 21, 2012 at 7:12 pm

    Happy Thanksgiving from the Teton high country to everyone in NN.C-land. Winter is not too threatening, YET. Cold, mostly rainy, but enough snow in the mountains for skiing to start Saturday, on schedule, at the local resorts. Seasonal forecast is for a shortage of snow; we’ll see.

    Also, it wasn’t me who noted this earlier, but Deb and I just celebrated 25 years of marriage, AND in three weeks we’ll both turn (gasp!) 61, three days apart. Lots to celebrate here.

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  46. LAMary said on November 21, 2012 at 8:19 pm

    My old towels are dog towels but also are Pete towels. Pete, my younger son, does not care if you give him a nice new towel or one with frayed edges and no identifiable color when he goes to visit friends who have swimming pools. He gets the towel that was yellow once but is now sort of greyish ivory. If I get lucky and he brings it home, it goes into the wash and it’s back in the dog/Pete pile in the laundry room.

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  47. alex said on November 21, 2012 at 9:21 pm

    Just learned of the death of a former colleague. She had fallen on hard times and lived without health insurance for the last eight years. She was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer in the ER just a few weeks ago.

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  48. Dorothy said on November 21, 2012 at 9:55 pm

    So sorry, Alex.

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  49. del said on November 21, 2012 at 10:10 pm

    Sorry Alex. No health care for 8 years? Jeez. I’m glad Obama proudly embraced the term Obamacare in the debates.

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  50. brian stouder said on November 21, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    Deborah – see, now THAT’s a holiday tradition I can get behind!

    Actually, Thanksgiving is the most perfect holiday, I think. It’s all about seeing kinfolks and/or friends, and yip-yapping, and eating.

    And, it’s always a Thursday, so it’s tailor-made for a long weekend. Generally a restful, pleasant thing all around.

    And remember – if someone wants to go all political/Fox News/aggrieved on you, just smile and say either “Scoreboard, baby!” (the way Jim Rome used to – or maybe still does), and/or “Your argument is with the American people” (the way Pat Buchanan used to cluck, after RWR’s re-election). I’ve actually used that one twice now, and both times the response was a reiteration of the 47%/bought-votes canard….which a hearty laugh tends to tamp down!

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  51. Sherri said on November 21, 2012 at 10:28 pm

    The turkey is in the refrigerator, dry-brining. I’ve made broth for the gravy from the neck and giblets. My daughter is making dough for the rolls. My husband has made cornbread to make cornbread dressing. We’re spending Thanksgiving tomorrow with a group of friends who moved up here from California with us, family being far away for all of us, an annual tradition of nine years standing now.

    Happy Thanksgiving, all!

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  52. Danny said on November 21, 2012 at 10:34 pm

    Happy Thanksgiving from San Diego. Winter has descended upon us here and we are even closing the windows at night. Brrrr! It’s colder than a mother-in-law’s kiss.

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  53. Jolene said on November 21, 2012 at 10:58 pm

    both times the response was a reiteration of the 47%/bought-votes canard

    Amusing, since it now appears that Romney’s vote count will eventually be rounded to 47%.

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  54. Sue said on November 21, 2012 at 11:11 pm

    Del, did you just involve us in a fight with your wife? That might be a first here.
    It’s the day before Thanksgiving and I’ve just pulled the last summer tomato out of the ripening box. Feeling all smug and harvest-y.
    And damn that global warming. No cold front porch to store all the extra food.

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  55. Connie said on November 22, 2012 at 7:35 am

    Not my sweet mother-in-law Danny. Over 20 of us will be descending on my 90 year old mother in law’s house (the one they bought in 1962)for a fine family Thanksgiving.

    My mother used to say that she had the kindest sweetest mother-in-law anyone could ask for and she was sorry that she couldn’t say the same for her husband.

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  56. Danny said on November 22, 2012 at 10:12 am

    That’s great, Connie. And it reminds me that one of the most frequent reminiscences at my grandmother’s funeral was how all of the in-laws and close family friends felt like she was their mother too. Such a loving and kind person, as was my grandfather. In fact, it was not uncommon for total strangers to fall in love with my grandparents after but a brief social encounter, such were their charms.

    I feel blessed and thankful to have had them around so long. And I am 48 and still have two grandparents left on my mother’s side.

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  57. Jeff said on November 22, 2012 at 10:20 am

    I’m thankful to be in Indiana with family, and have nothing to do but mash potatoes and watch the parade with my son. My mother-in-law, a sweety who is healthier than she’s been in years, again won’t hardly let any of us do a thing. But I’m thankful for that because it’s why her daughter never learned to cook, hence the reason she found me at all attractive in college!

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  58. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 22, 2012 at 11:42 am

    Oh, and http://www.arlo.net/resources/lyrics/alices.shtml

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  59. Deborah said on November 22, 2012 at 11:47 am

    Little Bird is prepping the bird to go into the oven soon. I’m lazing around for a bit, not time to start the rest of the fixings.

    I read a horrific article on the Mother Jones site about working in a fulfillment warehouse for an unnamed on-line company. I’m thankful that I never had to work under these conditions http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/mac-mcclelland-free-online-shipping-warehouses-labor?page=1

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  60. MichaelG said on November 22, 2012 at 1:27 pm

    That’s really horrible, Deborah. I could have gone all day without reading that. I guess we’re closer to being a third world country than I realized.

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  61. Judybusy said on November 22, 2012 at 2:34 pm

    Alex, I’m sorry for your loss.

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  62. Minnie said on November 22, 2012 at 3:54 pm

    Alex, what makes the story even sadder, of course, is that much of her suffering could have been prevented were we a kinder society. I hope we’re on the way to making decent health care available to all.

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  63. brian stouder said on November 22, 2012 at 4:51 pm

    Jeff tmmo, great link! It lead me to another link, which had this bit, from Linda Ellerbee

    We all know the story now (some of us by heart) of how Arlo was arrested by Officer Obie for littering. He had to pay a fine and pick up the garbage. Years later, when the arrest showed up on Arlo’s record, he was, through the kind of bureaucratic silliness that only government can truely embrace, deemed unsuitable for military service. To paraphrase Arlo, they decided he wasn’t fit to go to Vietnam and kill a bunch of people because he was a litterbug. It was a perfect story of the time.

    Following the success of Alice’s Restaurant the song, came Alice’s Restaurant the movie in which both Arlo and Obie played themselves. Here was one cop who seemed to have a sense of humor, or at least a sense of proportion, about the late ’60s version of American reality, which was not a pretty sight. If nothing else, he helped to blur the lines between “them” and “us” which was often needed at the time.

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  64. Jolene said on November 22, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    Mo Rocca did a follow-up piece w/ Arlo Guthrie on CBS’s morning show today. Check it out here: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50135686n

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  65. Maggie Jochild said on November 22, 2012 at 6:35 pm

    In addition to the traditional listening of Alice’s Restaurant (which bewildered my 20-something attendant), I partook of this BBC radio offering: “Ian McMillan goes in search of the people and places described in Arlo Guthrie’s 1960’s ballad, Alice’s Restaurant and discovers how this eighteen minute song inspired a generation and still plays a unique part in American life today.” Excellent, accessible to us non-Brits at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nwp2j

    I dare not doom this post with multiple URLs, but also obligatory viewing on this day (because I don’t pollute it with sports) is the West Wing show (Shibboleth) where C.J. Cregg pardons the turkeys (Troy and Eric), and of course the WKRP episode containing the immortial line “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly!” Both are easily found at Youtube.

    I had pot roast and coconut cream pie in lieu of more traditional meats and sweets, but also concocted a homemade cornbread and pecan stuffing that rocked, ATK-inspired sweet potatoes, and a simple no-sugar cranberry chutney from dried berries and orange juice that is, frankly, the best I ever had.

    I am leaving leftovers at the birdfeeding station outside my window (my window on the workd) for the family of possums which have recently decided my patio is the trendiest after-hours joint in Austin. They are enlivening the wee hours for me and my horrified kitten, Scout.

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  66. Maggie Jochild said on November 22, 2012 at 6:37 pm

    “immortal”

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  67. Deborah said on November 22, 2012 at 7:52 pm

    Had our turkey, stuffing and potatoes, also walnut sage green beans. Stuffed. Soon we’ll be having pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Enjoying a fire, peaceful and calm after a frenzy of cooking, baking, roasting.

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  68. Kirk said on November 22, 2012 at 8:55 pm

    Had turkey, mashed taters, noodles, sweet corn, broccoli salad, apple pie, rolls and Beaujolais Nouveau with family at lunchtime and, soon as we get this paper out, will have more of the same when I get home.

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  69. LAMary said on November 22, 2012 at 8:56 pm

    My Thanksgiving will be tomorrow. As usual, the ex remembered he had sons one day before a holiday and demanded they go to his house. Also as usual, I told the boys that I we would finalize our holiday plans after they heard from their dad, and that I would work around that schedule if they chose to go to his house. I understand things were really unpleasant the time they said no. So they went up to Malibu this afternoon, and I will bake pies and make stuffing tomorrow morning and roast the turkey in the afternoon.

    While gathering documents for my lawyer when we started the divorce process I found so many emails asking, “do you want to boys at your house for (fill in the holiday or birthday) or are they going to stay
    home? Please let me know within a reasonable time so I can make plans.”

    The holiday is the time we spend together being thankful for what we share, not the date on the calendar.

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  70. Connie said on November 22, 2012 at 9:18 pm

    Had a lovely day with fine food and even finer family. All my nieces have become such lovely women. And met my brother in law’s new lady friend who turns out to be a judge in the next county south of Sleeping Bear.

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  71. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 22, 2012 at 10:58 pm

    Ah, Mary: your ex- has so many kinsmen. May you all have a glorious day tomorrow!

    The Mo Rocca CBS piece on Arlo and his song is incredibly sweet and touching, especially at the very end. Well worth five minutes.

    I’ve learned today that my rooting for a team dooms them. If anyone is needing to win some money, feel free to ask me to cheer for the team you’re betting against. Otherwise, I’ll go back to remembering to watch Bears’ games an hour after they’ve ended.

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  72. LAMary said on November 22, 2012 at 11:46 pm

    Thanks, Jeff, and yes, I’m sure there are lots of fathers like him. The boys will spend the first part of the day stripping wallpaper. They are being paid by a neighbor who bought a forclosed house with intentions to flip it, and he hired my two sons to do the messy work preparing it for a cosmetic fix up. I’ve said it before. I’m proud of their work ethic and their willingness to get their hands dirty. I think they learned that from me, not from the trips to Malibu.

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  73. Basset said on November 23, 2012 at 6:36 am

    The Arlo story sounds really interesting but I can’t watch Mo Rocca, the stories I’ve seen of his all seem to be about how hip and clever he is… And I just want to slap those little glasses off his face.

    Basset jr. liked the veggieducken real well yesterday, which was good because they are a lot of trouble to make with all the chopping and carving and arranging. I should be just getting into the woods right now, would scare the deer away sneezing and coughing though so I’m gonna stay in for awhile.

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  74. Jolene said on November 23, 2012 at 8:49 am

    Mo plays a pretty small role in that clip, basset. I don’t think you’d be put off by anything he says or does in this one.

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  75. basset said on November 23, 2012 at 9:46 am

    it’s a Mo story, he has to be on camera… that’s enough. He’s one of the reasons I’ve just about quit watching Sunday Morning, him and the redheaded feature reporter who ventures out from New York to find amusing rustics and raise an eyebrow at them before he heads back to civilization. (Not to mention Ben Stein and the Concerned Woman of Color in front of their respective black backgrounds, so you know it’s Serious Commentary and not cheapened with production… and the stories replayed from earlier in the week, sometimes whole shows…most days any more I just have it on in the background without paying much attention till the Moment of Nature at the end.)

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  76. brian stouder said on November 23, 2012 at 10:49 am

    I plead ignorance; I lost track of CBS Sunday Morning pretty much with the advent of satellite/cable tv, let alone the demise of Charles Kuralt.

    Honestly, broadcast network news from CBS/ABC/NBC is almost entirely off my radar. I’ll catch a snippet of 60 Minutes every so often (usually a portion of the last segment, captured on dvr during the football season, when we’re trying to capture Amazing Race from the beginning)

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  77. Jolene said on November 23, 2012 at 11:24 am

    I like Sunday Morning less than I used to too, though I still watch it. What I like least is the “Moment of Nature brought to you by [whomever}.” Was much nicer when it was just, “We leave you this morning [wherever}.” No label, no sponsor.

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  78. LAMary said on November 23, 2012 at 11:48 am

    I can’t stand Mo Rocca. He’s on CBS, the Food Network and NPR. Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me is going to be here in LA next week, and a friend and I considered going until we saw that Mo Rocca was one of the panelists.

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  79. MichaelG said on November 23, 2012 at 12:59 pm

    I’m another one who’s doing Thanksgiving tomorrow. My daughter and the grandkids are coming over. I’m cooking. It’ll be nice.

    Sunday mornings for me are Rachel Martin on NPR, the paper and the crossword and a big leisurely breakfast.

    I don’t like Mo Rocca either. He makes my teeth ache. I once had a flash of he and Sandra Lee cooking a meal together. I might even break my vow and watch that.

    And boy howdy, did Kaepernick bring a new vitality to the 49ers on Monday.

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  80. Charlotte said on November 23, 2012 at 1:02 pm

    We had a turkey (dry, the way my sweetie likes it), mashed potatoes, stuffing and some roasted veggies with a nice, not too sweet chocolate cake for dessert. However, all that paled in comparison to the joy that was had by the self-proclaimed Masshole as he watched his beloved Patriots score four touchdowns in 2 minutes to say nothing of the amazeballs Vince Wilfork who picked up a lineman and bounced him off poor Mark Sanchez’s face. We’re still chuckling ….

    And the 101 year old granny got some morphine for Thanksgiving … looks like the last lap is indeed here. Cheered her up though, she got some real sleep, and when she was up she was much more lucid than she’s been in a couple of weeks. Hooray for opiates.

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  81. Sherri said on November 23, 2012 at 1:56 pm

    The dry-brined turkey turned out well, and we had a ham to go with it, along with two kinds of dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, green salad, stuffed acorn squash, cranberry sauce, cranberry relish, sauteed apples and onions, and rolls. (There were 16 of us, half of which were between the ages of 17 and 21, and it was a pot luck.) Pumpkin pie, apple cranberry crisp, and brownies finished out the meal, and every one went home happy and with left-overs. We marveled at how fast the kids had grown up, and noted that we were already down two kids who couldn’t make it in for Thanksgiving this year. This group may not be family, but many of us have known each other since before our children were born, so I like to think of it as family without the baggage!

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  82. JWfromNJ said on November 23, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    Our family thanksgiving, as in just my wife and two of our kids is today. Yesterday we ended up going to a church fellowship event to be social. We were the yougest folks there, but it was all the seniors without local family, so it was nice to get out and spread some cheer. We go to a Unitarian Universalist church so the food labels were great, like “gluten free” “contains nuts,” “fair trade organic,” but in the end the food mostly sucked.

    Today I’m doing it my way, traditional fixings all home made: orange pear cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy made from my own ctock, the family favorite sausage stuffing, except I went Serious Eats – NY Times style this year and “spatchcocked” the turkey. I’m roasting it on my charcoal grill using a disposable oven liner as a cooking surface. Supposed to take about an hour and we’re almost there. The neighborhood does smell delightfult though!

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  83. MichaelG said on November 23, 2012 at 3:53 pm

    Sherri, how does a dry brined turkey work? A salt rub?

    Wow, JW. I’ve spatchcocked a chicken and cooked it on the grill but I’ve never heard of a spatchcocked turkey. That must have been a job but it sounds delicious.

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  84. Basset said on November 23, 2012 at 5:16 pm

    I’m in the woods outside Bucksnort, Tennessee waiting for a deer to come by. Not likely, though, been windy all afternoon and they generally don’t move around much then. That spray can stuff didn’t work, the scent molecules are probably in Alabama by now.

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  85. Little Bird said on November 23, 2012 at 5:17 pm

    I wrapped my turkey in bacon, and ended up with the best gravy I’ve ever made. We have enough leftovers to last at least a week, and we didn’t even make the mashed sweet potatoes!

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  86. Julie Robinson said on November 23, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    It was just three of us this year so we did a turkey breast, which was delicious. We boiled the bones and will be making turkey chowder with some sweet corn I froze this summer. Yum, yum! This afternoon we had a family dessert gathering, which was fun and much easier than doing a whole meal for the big crowd.

    We’re seeing Lincoln later tonight–it was sold out at the first theater we went to, much to our surprise.

    No shopping whatsoever today, but let me share the facebook status from our local library: “It’s Black Friday! Door busters at your library include unlimited book and music checkouts, up to 6 dvds, and up to 3 video games, and it is all at the special price of FREE with your library card! Don’t worry, if you miss out on this special offer today, it will be going on indefinitely at all of our locations. Doors open at 9am for the Main Library, and 10am for branch locations, just be polite when you are entering, no fisticuffs please.” I’m happy to say I took advantage of this offer early, before the holiday.

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  87. LAMary said on November 23, 2012 at 7:30 pm

    We’re going to eat in about an hour. I did a pear and apple pie with a crust that includes ground toasted walnuts. I did the lattice top and all that and it looks gorgeous. We’ve got turkey, stuffing, brussel sprouts, acorn squash and green beans. And mashed potatoes of course.

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  88. Dexter said on November 23, 2012 at 7:54 pm

    I pine for the loss of Charles Kuralt, even after all these years, when I tune in the more modern version with old man Charles Osgood. I miss Dr. Billy Taylor the most; his reporting led me to an appreciation of the current jazz stars, so I wouldn’t be stuck listening to all the masters who peaked many years before I was born. With Dr. Taylor’s death, I find my self drifting back to the 1920s, 30s, 40s stars again. They’re all on YouTube. I even liked the corny Roger Welsch and his “Postcards from Nebraska”. And remember Eugenia Zukerman and her flute and poignant stories featuring other virtuosos?
    One time she was performing a set, paused, and Charles Kuralt stepped into the camera set and Eugenia turned, glared, and said loudly “THERE’S ANOTHER MOVEMENT!” , as Kuralt backpedalled while saying “sorry, sorry!”
    It was the funniest thing I ever saw on that show, I swear. She all but yelled “YOU FUCKING DUMBASS!” at Kuralt.

    Yes, back from Columbus already, as taking the cat along would tax the system there…we had six dogs and three cats and some chinchillas as it was. I left the cat here and only stayed the one day and night. I wanted to spend more time with my precious baby granddaughter before she grows up.
    That’s life.
    We had a feast, turkey, spiral-sliced ham, cheesy potatoes as well as traditional mashed with gravy. We had green bean/mushroom casserole, we had stuffing, cheesecake, pumpkin pie, chocolate pie, as as Andy Griffith would have said, “…and ah don’ know WHATALL!”
    I bargained for and negotiated for roasted brussel sprouts, all on deaf ears. It was not going to happen. Well, by god, guess what? It is happening tomorrow here in my kitchen.
    I just wish I would have remembered I was going to get hungry here tonight and brought home some of all those leftovers. D’OH!”

    Oh…a few of the assembled at the house left last night and returned with iPads and all kinds of stuff. They love that stuff, that shopping crush. Not 4 me. Nope.

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  89. beb said on November 23, 2012 at 8:34 pm

    Basset wrote: “That spray can stuff didn’t work, the scent molecules are probably in Alabama by now.” Which might explain a lot about Alabama…

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  90. Dexter said on November 23, 2012 at 8:43 pm

    ah why not…the original…
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM

    Alice’s Restaurant

    …and GO BLUE ! BEAT OHIO!
    (Michigan coach Brady Hoke has turned the tables on the whole THE Ohio State bunch that won’t even say “Michigan”, but just says “that team from up north” by refusing to call OSU anything but “Ohio”. It’s become an odd rallying cry, but I’m on board. BEAT OHIO ! Noon on TV. Saturday.

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  91. basset said on November 24, 2012 at 8:40 am

    Dexter, I’m with you on Kuralt… the gold standard for that kind of show, no bow ties, no cutesy rhymes, no “I’ll see you on the radio,” just the story. Hell, I miss Hughes Rudd. And NBC News Overnight.

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  92. Sue said on November 24, 2012 at 9:31 am

    NBC News Overnight helped me keep my sanity when I had a newborn who Would.Not.Sleep. I will love Linda Ellerbee until the end of time.

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  93. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on November 24, 2012 at 10:20 am

    Seriously, anti-Roccaites, of which I am one: you will enjoy the Arlo Guthrie piece. The Mo content is less than you’d think.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50135686n

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  94. Scout said on November 24, 2012 at 11:25 am

    Here in sunny Phoenix, we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner out on the patio. We had stuffed tofurkey roasted with veggies, mashed sweet potatoes, spoon cornbread, green beans roasted with almonds, kale and pomegranate salad, cranberry and orange sauce and homemade bread. Deeeelightful.

    We turned Black Friday into Red Rock Friday with a drive up to Sedona. We took a picnic lunch, did a three hour hike, made exactly ONE purchase at a local boutique for my Mom’s birthday gift, enjoyed a holiday light display at Los Abrigados, toured the Festival of Trees at Tlaquepaque, had pizza at The Hideaway, a non touristy locals hangout, then drove home. Got on the internet and read all the Walmart BF horror stories and thought, why on earth would you do that?

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