By Jaclyn Quan

Staff Writer

  Thanksgiving of 2015 was truly one to remember. It was a cold November night as I made my way to the door of my Uncle Chung’s house. Every year, my dad’s side of the family would get together at this very place for any special occasion.

  However, this Thanksgiving took a different turn.

  When I entered the house, everything seemed fine at first. I was greeted by my Aunt Connie, who informed me that there were some mash potatoes and string beans. She also told me that the turkey would be finished cooking in about half an hour.

  My Uncle Chung and his sons decided to deep fry the turkey in their backyard, putting an unusual twist in turkey preparations. The turkey was going to take longer to cook because they had to completely soak the turkey inside a boiling pot of oil. However, what was supposed to be half an hour took longer than expected.

  Everyone waited for the turkey to finish cooking for almost two hours. To add even more frustration, arguments could be heard across the hall as my aunts bickered about how to cook string beans and prepare cranberry sauce. In the living room, my uncles were watching football while my older cousins were debating about Obamacare and my younger cousins were playing with Brembo, the family dog.

  After a while, my uncle Mike asked my cousin, “Eric, how long did you say the turkey was going to be fully cooked?”

  “I haven’t checked yet,” he stated.

  Eric, who was distracted answering business emails, forgot to check on the turkey. Frantically, he ran outside with his brothers, my Uncle Chung following. When they got back, they showed everyone the turkey. The turkey was charcoal black and looked as if it was just cooked in a California forest fire.

  With no turkey, my relatives were angry, unable to think of an alternative.

  To make matters worse, my younger cousins were messing with Brembo. Frightened, Brembo leaped on top of the table, where the food was placed. With a swift dash across the long table, the mashed potatoes, chicken salad, and almost everything else was knocked off, ruining what was left of our Thanksgiving dinner.

 Overall, Thanksgiving of 2015 was quite disappointing, since I did not eat anything at my uncle’s house beside the pumpkin pie that was left intact. Most importantly, I realized that Thanksgiving is not as always as perfect as it is made out to be.