Song Challenge: Talk Turkey!

Subject: Song Challenge: Talk Turkey!
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 19 Nov 01 - 03:00 PM

Write a humourous song about Thanksgiving and/or Turkeys Here are a few stories from the Butterball Talk line to get you going!!

BUTTERBALL TURKEY TALK-LINE "GREATEST HITS" (or, "Memorable Moments in Talk-Line History;" or,"Out of the Mouths of....Turkey Trauma Victims")

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Over the years, the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line staff have had their share of memorable calls -- inquiries that stand out from the crowd because they're heartwarming or amusing. We asked some of the veteran staff members to tell us their favorites; plus, we rounded up a bunch of our own personal favorites from the Talk-Line archives.

It's hard to beat the call from a trucker who planned to cook his Thanksgiving turkey on the engine of his truck (Will it cook faster if I drive faster?), but some of these come pretty close. Warning: do not attempt to adjust your screen -- these are real incidents, true stories -- from the front lines!

Home alone, a Kentucky woman was in the doghouse when she called the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. While preparing the turkey, her chihuahua jumped into the bird's body cavity and couldn't get out. She tried pulling the dog and shaking the bird, but nothing worked. She and the dog became more and more distraught. After calming the woman down, the Talk-Line home economist suggested carefully cutting the opening in the cavity of the turkey wider. It worked and Fido was freed!

Birdie, eagle and turkey? Roasting a turkey doesn't have to interfere with the daily routine, so said a retired Floridian. He called "Turkey Central" for turkey grilling tips while waiting to tee off from the 14th hole.

Taking turkey preparation an extra step, a Virginian wondered, "How do you thaw a fresh turkey?" The Talk-Line staffer explained that fresh turkeys aren't frozen and don't need to be thawed.

Don't wait until the last minute! On Thanksgiving Day, a Georgian woman took the "Be prepared" motto to heart. She had just agreed to host Thanksgiving Dinner and called the Talk-Line a year ahead of time for turkey tips.

Happy Thanksgiving, President Clinton! A Southern woman called to comment, "On Thanksgiving Day, the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line is more important than the President. He can take the day off, but the Talk-Line staff can't."

Thanksgiving Dinner on the run. A woman called 1-800-323-4848 to find out how long it would take to roast her turkey. To answer the question, the Talk-Line home economist asked how much the bird weighed. The woman responded, "I don't know, it's still running around outside."

Tofu turkey? No matter how you slice it, Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving without turkey. A restaurant owner in California wanted to know how to roast a turkey for a vegetarian menu.

White meat, anyone? A West Coast woman took turkey preparation to extremes by scrubbing her bird with bleach. Afterward, she called the Talk-Line to find out how to clean off the bleach. To her dismay, she was advised to dispose of the turkey.

A young girl called on behalf of her mother who needed roasting advice. To provide approximate roasting times, the home economist asked what size the turkey was. Without asking her mother the little girl paused, then replied, "Medium."

A novice turkey-cooking chef wanted to know if the yellow netting and wrapper around the turkey should be removed before roasting. Envisioning a melted plastic turkey blob, the home economist responded, "Yes," then offered complete roasting directions.

Subject: RE: Song Challenge: Talk Turkey!
From: Amos
Date: 19 Nov 01 - 04:18 PM

What is it with the intelligence economy? We seem to have more than our share of paupers. Well, at least these guys had the brains to phone!! That means there's thousands of scarier stories out there of those who did'n't and fed their families puppy-stuffed, thawed AND fresh, bleached turkies with melted netting glued into their hides, cooked on a genuine Peterbilt !!

Maybe we should take to having hamburgers to give thanks.

A

Subject: RE: Song Challenge: Talk Turkey!
From: MMario
Date: 19 Nov 01 - 04:36 PM

There was quite a fad a few years back of cooking over truck/auto engines. I know we occasionaly did it while traveling - saved time; saved propane. It did waste a lot of aluminum foil.

Subject: RE: Song Challenge: Talk Turkey!
From: SharonA
Date: 19 Nov 01 - 05:39 PM

Then there was the clip from one of those "funny video" shows of a woman taking the plastic bag of giblets out of the cavity of the bird... after she'd roasted it and the family around her was asking where the stuffing was.

Subject: RE: Song Challenge: Talk Turkey!
From: Sorcha
Date: 19 Nov 01 - 05:44 PM

True story------I had been married about 2 years and we were living in New Mexico. My parents came down for Thanksgiving. Now, mind you, I DID know how to cook a turkey--had done it lots of times. I bought a small turkey (only 4 of us), it was about 8 lbs. Thawed it properly and put it to roast about 10 AM, thinking to eat about 2. 2:00, the turkey is not done. 3:00, turkey is not done. 5:00, damn turkey is STILL NOT DONE!! Bloody in the middle, we finally threw the stupid bird away and went and ate enchiladas. Yes, the oven was on and was the correct temp. To this day I have no idea what was the matter with the dumb thing.

Subject: RE: Song Challenge: Talk Turkey!
From: 53
Date: 19 Nov 01 - 10:03 PM

i don't like talking turkey i like eating turkey, mmmnnn, good. BOB

Subject: RE: Song Challenge: Talk Turkey!
From: MMario
Date: 20 Nov 01 - 08:35 AM

Most of my family uses the "slow cook" method for turkey - something that was popular and widespread a few decades ago. According to the health sources now, it is dangerous, potentially lethal, etc, etc, etc. given the number of people in my family, the number of turkeys each has done this way (my dad used to cook a turkey a week just because he liked the way it smelled) and the number of years we've been doing it - it could be argued we are a statistically valid sample - and have not had a single case of any kind of bad reaction.

Subject: RE: Song Challenge: Talk Turkey!
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 20 Nov 01 - 08:59 AM

Maybe this thread Dubya and the Turkey might give some ideas.

(Thinks...now what rhymes with Monica?...)