Weber saves a Thanksgiving

Preparations for Thanksgiving brings to mind past holidays. Holidays spent with family and many apart.

I was in the US Navy, and many times we were stationed in locations not conducive to going home for Turkey Day.

One particular Thanksgiving comes to mind.

Thanksgiving

The location was Galeta Island Panama. I was there as the EMO, department head responsible for the maintenance of the operations systems.

My wife, two children, and I lived in quarters (apartment) on the waterfront. The quarters were once Panama Canal workers housing. Like you see in movies, we parked our car below the elevated apartment.

Soon after my wife arrived in Panama, my commanding officer asked her to serve as the command ombudsman.

She agreed and became responsible for representing him and the command at many organizational and council meetings. Of course, she developed a phone list of important contacts, many in the US Army.

Then Thanksgiving arrives.

We decided to cook our turkey in our round Weber grill. The turkey was placed on the hot grill, and I added charcoal regularly. The bird was doing well with the goal of eating about 4 pm.

2 pm, the power in our housing area failed. There was no power to the ovens filled with turkeys. We knew of the outage when our lights went off.

Long story, short…my wife called one of her contacts in the Army Public Works, and power was restored promptly. Ovens reheated and turkeys browned, dinner was saved,although late, for tens of families living in housing at Galeta Island.

As the wife arranged for power restoration, I made trips up and down the stairs to our Weber. I maintained the heat where Mr. Tom roasted.

When the turkey was done, we dined while others in the housing area waited. A fortuitous decision to cook our turkey on a grill rather than in the oven.

Thanksgiving this year

Weber grill
Weber grill

This Thanksgiving we are blessed with family from Illinois visiting, and my daughter’s family from next door will dine with us.

Two turkeys to serve the number of us. One turkey will go in the oven, and the second is going in the smoker. I am comfortable both will turn out mouth-watering. The smoker and oven are electric. We must have power for dinner to be on-time.

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company be nice to us.

Dinner sides are mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and green bean casserole at this point. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, and maybe Watergate salad. (I have made myself hungry.)

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving? Tell me using the comment form.

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