OK, so help me write my newspaper column for Thursday....

[flowomo]

since my weekly column always runs on Thursday, I always get stuck with the Thanksgiving Day column. You might think "stuck"? It sounds like a great assignment. Sure it is -- the first three or four times. But after that, you run out of new angles pretty quick. So this year I'm thinking of using that old columnist's dodge -- the spell out. I'm going to go T-H-A-N-K-S-G-I-V-I-N-G and assign an appropriate thought to each letter. The first T, of course, is for Turkey. But I thought my fellow DUer's could give me some ideas for the rest. Could be a thought, a news item, a person in the news, something funny -- make it fun, thoughtful, lively. No profanities or slurs. Can be political but nothing harsh. It's a holiday column for a small-town daily newspaper and I will make it something that people would want to read and would enjoy as they relax, wait for dinner or the football games to start. So, pick a letter -- or all the letters -- and tell me what they should stand for. Here, btw, are some of my columns from previous years:

www.cumberlink.com/articles/2002/11/27/editorial/rich_lewis/lewis01.txt

www.cumberlink.com/articles/2003/11/27/editorial/rich_lewis/lewis01.txt

[hippywife]

1. Hmmm...

let' see

H-Halliburton
A-Al Zarqawi

[hippywife]

2. I'm having trouble with N

but K could be Katrina!

[flowomo]

3. N is New Orleans...

I won't be giving Katrina a letter -- why celebrate the disaster when you can celebrate the courageous victims?

[hfojvt]

4. so u are saying that one "I"

cannot be for "indictment" (of Scooter) and the other one for Impeachment (well, Thanksgiving can be about hope can't it?)

[flowomo]

5. might consider those!

[Floogeldy]

6. I'll give you all of the assistance you need.

For $5,000.00.

Otherwise, you're on your own.

Can't handle your job, eh?

[flowomo]

7. I'd have to see a sample before I write the check....

show me your second best.

[Dangerously Amused]

8. Turd Ucken?

I have long been a vegetarian, so it comes as no surprise that I never heard the word "turducken" before it appeared in your column to describe an entree consisting of meat wrapped in meat wrapped in meat. Generally speaking I would have no use for such a word, and thereby dispatch it from my vocabulary directly. However, in this case it occurs to me that "turducken" is an exquisite work of onomatopoeia, as I feel all meat is, at least figuratively, "turd ucken." Therefore this Thanksgiving I wish to thank you for adding the word "turducken" to my personal dictionary. I am certain that I will find many opportunities to enjoy the robust application of the word "turducken" whilst dining in the company of family and friends.

[flowomo]

9. they always show one cooking on Monday Night Football...

the Monday before Thanksgiving because it is now so closely identified with John Madden (the NFL color guy). The one last night was being roasted on a flaming grill outside Lambeau Field. Never had it myself. But always glad to expand a fellow DUer's vocab! And I agree -- the word is horrible and, as you say, onomatopoeic.

[Allenberg]

10. Cool...Carlisle.

My dad and I used to go out there to the big car shows. The food there at the giant white building was awesome. :)

[flowomo]

11. car shows bigger and better than ever!

come back some time.

[Allenberg]

12. Now that I moved back to Pittsburgh

I'll probably take a drive out with the 'ol man next Ford show. :)

[NMMNG]

13. G - Generosity

Generosity of pocketbook (where possible), of time, but most importantly of heart/spirit. Even the poorest of us are capable of the last two, and really they are far more important than money. The loving support of friends, family and neighbors does more for one's psyche than cash or material goods.

[flowomo]

14. good. That would be a fine "G"

[hippywife]

15. Sorry, flowomo!

I obviously skipped a lot of words in your original post and didn't get the gist of what you were going for. I was a little impaired last night.

[Rabrrrrrr]

16. Mmm....kinda fun!

t - Turkey

h - Health

a - All Fear, All The Time, the mantra of our criminal administration

n - Nitwits. Yes, let us give thanks for nitwits, because without them the republicans would have no one to vote for them, and Tim Lehaye would have no one to buy his books and the entire rightwing Christian publishing industry would collapse, putting tens of thousands of people out of work.

k - Killing heretics with our Right Hand of God military, heretics like gays, democrats, liberals, intellectuals, muslims, people who are different, blacks, asians, etc.

s - Sandwich bags. I mean seriously, they're handy as hell. I use them for all sorts of stuff. In fact, I haven't put a sandwich in a sandwich bag for probably 15 years.

g - God, the one to whom we give thanks (but the God represented by Democratic and liberal righteousness, not the republican god of hate and hypocrisy)

i - Indictments for the criminals running our country

v - Voices of the American people raised in freedom to criticize the criminal administration

i - Indigo, a color that I like

n - Needless war, killing thousands of our teenage...

g - GIs, dying horribly to satiate the greed of our criminal administration

[flowomo]

17. thanks for the V....

that one has been puzzling me.... and "voices" is very good... starting weith John Murtha.