Amy and the Thanksgiving Dinner

My imaginary daughter Amy, 6, snapped this picture with her Hello Kitty cellphone on Thanksgiving just before the City of Gardena Fire Department arrived to Carolyn's boyfriend Fahd's mother's backyard to put out the blaze arising from Fahd's attempt at deep-frying a Butterball (which, coincidentally, he's been court-ordered not to call Amy).


"Good thing we had a HoneyBaked Ham," said my optimistic Amy, who also snapped this pic of the extraordinary table Carolyn set for the holiday, replete with upscale plastic plates and cutlery. You can see Carolyn's indecipherable baked bean stuffing and Hungry Jack instant mashed potatoes in the elegant aluminum serving trays, along with a glimpse of a stainless steel bowl of Heinz Roasted Turkey Gravy.


"I made mini biscuit ham sandwiches without mayo, Ricky, isn't that good?" questioned Amy with the undeniable logic of ill-informed youth on a restricted diet. "Yes, darling, that's good," I said, not wanting to discourage her from finding the silver foil lining in a holiday turkey disaster.


Fortunately, there was only minor loss from the fire (other than the turkey and fryer); the sofa Fahd's mother kept on the back porch sustained some smoke damage and was carried to the street by Carolyn and Fahd's mother. Amy said Fahd's mother had insurance, but it didn't meet her "defuctible."



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