We're all sitting on the long benches that run fore and aft, bent over by the weight and arrangement of our gear, shivering, anticipating the drop. Towards the forward bulkhead, there's a flare of light as the drop leader pops the hatch. All along the overhead, indicator lights blink from blue to amber as she waves a turkey baster at us and shouts over our commo channel, "Stand up and hook on!" The ovens are preheated and this is it! We're goin' in--
It feels kinda like that. It's been years since I did a full Thanksgiving; the usual drill was my family's off-day "bring a dish of whatever" holiday feats and my ex's on-the-day family outing to a restaurant (my own mother was scandalized by this practice when first she heard of it).
Let's see, I still need coffee, fresh mushrooms and a little bit of good bacon. (The latter two are for a foolish attempt at mushroom-bacon gravy). That, with luck, should be it; I have everything else we'll need for a meal.
It will sure be a change from my last several working days, mostly spent standing on scaffolding at the focal point of a 5-meter earth station dish, rebuilding the motorized, adjustable feed assembly, an odd combination of delicacy (the drive uses a tiny bicycle chain, with links about 1/8" long) and strength (the fixed part of the mount uses a pair of 1/2" thick circular aluminum plates about 2 feet across, holding a big waveguide assembly almost as big around and half again as long with widgetry sticking out at angles all over). Doesn't make any difference how long you cook that!
If tomorrow is sunny, you could maybe use the 5-meter dish as a solar oven.
ReplyDeleteOr power up the dish for a few seconds and par-cook the bird. Oh, wait. That would be for emitters. Might take a bit longer than that for a receiver. Never mind.
ReplyDeleteHave a happy Turkey day to one and all!
foolish attempt at mushroom-bacon gravy
ReplyDeleteGravy? Mushrooms? Bacon?
Brilliant - not foolish.
Y'all have yourselves a great Thanksgiving time now, ya hear!
Good thing you're not trying to find canned pumpkin. There isn't any to be had for love nor money, not in Greater Cleveland anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnd just to cement my rep for being pedantic, you jump out of a door at the rear of the plane, which is where the Jumpmaster is stationed.
ReplyDeleteD. W.,
ReplyDeleteOur lovely and charming hostess works on a Starship. Fore and aft are relative.
DW: not always!
ReplyDeleteAlso, dyslexia? :)
ReplyDeleteA restaurant? Oh you lucky, lucky thing. Until a feud erupted between certain factions what otherwise would have shared a booth, the recent tradition for local kith and kin would be to gather at an Indian casino for the all-you-can-eat turkey buffet and slots.
ReplyDeleteFamily unity may be somewhat fractured now, but at least the bill for headache powder to combat the clanging, jangling, beeping, booping, sirens, and assorted other infernal racket is severely reduced.