Scene Three: Thanksgiving

(The dining room of Phi Tau coeducational fraternity slightly past 6pm on Thanksgiving. A motley group of undergrads feast upon homemade mashed potatoes, vegan stuffing, turducken, and sundry other culinary masterpieces with mismatched cutlery. In the background, Arlo Guthrie advises, "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant...")

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While Dartmouth provided students with a four-day Thanksgiving weekend this year, I chose to stay on campus. My reasoning was this:

• I needed to study for final exams, which would be upon me in about a week,
• I would not productively study at home,
• I would be going home for winter break in twelve days anyway,
• Going home now would imbue me with reluctance to return,
• Conclusion: Although I would sorely miss my uncle's green bean casserole, my grandmother's ambrosia salad, and the family in general, it was not worth the time, money, or fretting to fly home for only several dozen hours when I would be home for winter break in a dozen days.

Thus, I found myself on a nearly-deserted campus. It was spooky walking ways that would ordinarily be thick with bodies at key times during the day with no movement in sight but the breeze in the leaves or a stray chipmunk. Even my BlitzMail, which is constantly clogged with unread missives, was eerily empty. I was resigned to the reality of fruit leather and porridge for Thanksgiving dinner when I received a Blitz of beauty.
"Stuck on campus? Don't have any dinner plans tomorrow?," it read, "Phi Tau is making a Turducken... and we always have room for friends." It asked for an RSVP and an optional donation of $5. Dinner was at six.
Along with a pair of friends also still here, I trekked across campus to the house at the given hour. Sharing Thanksgiving with the wonderful people at Phi Tau made all of us feel a little bit more at home.

Still wondering "What in the world is a 'turducken?"
According to the brothers at Phi Tau, a turducken is "five birds, deboned and stuffed inside each other."


Image source: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~phitau/