# Time again for the infamous Thanksgiving Letter by Marnie **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 23, 2013, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597 "2013-11-23T04:42:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/41 "2013-11-24T23:05:48Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I’m very happy that in our family, everything is coordinated by the women, and us guys are just along for the ride. That way the guys can be watching football in the room with the TV, while the ladies do all the work. Well, except for me and my partner, who hang around making chit chat with the ladies, because we’ve got teh gay, and hate football. Do you help out? Or do you just chit chat while everyone else is working? Everyone at work assumes that because I possess a vagina, I want to organize the holiday potluck or the going away party for so-and-so or the baby shower for whatserface. Whenever I tell the guy who is making the suggestion that I’m not the floor social director but there’s nothing stopping him from doing it, suddenly he changes his mind about how great another party would be. And then sure enough, a woman eventually does step in to save the day. I know I shouldn’t let it annoy me, but it does. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/42 "2013-11-25T03:13:29Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > It’s not just the men in my family who plop their asses and watch football. A few women do, too. They are much too important to participate in the cooking and cleaning. > > I’m the Thanksgiving scrooge! My mother grew up in one of those huge “EVERYONE pitches in” families. Yes, for Thanksgiving, the men’s level of pitching in involved manning the bar, getting the leaves into the table, making sure the sidewalk was shoveled and de-iced, and other manly activities. But everyone pitched in. Every family brought a dish. Every woman who wasn’t active in the kitchen before dinner, knew that if she was older than six, she was in the kitchen after dinner. She spent years hosting family dinners for the next generation and was always disappointed in my fathers family - his brothers married women who sat. And his mother was of the opinion that once you had daughters in law, you sit. Which means that my mother and sisters and I pulled off every family holiday while they sat. But my mother always said, and I agree, that as holiday dinners go, Thanksgiving is easy. The menu is planned, you buy the same things every year. The pies bake up fine the weekend before - and pumpkin pie isn’t hard (in my family, the second pie is pecan, which can be a pain in the butt). The day of, you are making “fancy” green beans by opening a can of the french kind and dumping a can of cream of mushroom soup over the top, popping a stuffed turkey in the oven, mashing a bunch of potatoes, cooking up some sweet potatoes, and slicing bread, cracking open the can of cranberries, and you are done - gravy when the turkey is resting and the cleaning up. If you were organized, all the potatoes got boiled and mashed on Wednesday, so today you are just throwing everything into the oven or microwave. Its sort of a disagreement between my mother in law and me. I think that Thanksgiving dinner should be the same every year, and it should be things that can be made in advance or cook all day, because the idea is to spend time with the family. She wants to mess with new recipes every year, and spend all day in the kitchen, because to her, cooking the meal is the fun part (I like to cook, I’d just rather not do it when I have company). ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/43 "2013-11-25T19:18:03Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I will comment that for someone who throws this type of potluck party every year, she is sadly underequipped. I don’t know about you, but I have a pie knife, I actually also have a cake server, about a dozen serving spoons including 2 slotted spoons, a couple ladles, and have 3 sets of the classic Corningware casserole sets. > > (snip) > > [actually, if I cared to, I can set a table for 16 with a full set of Limoges china, honest to goodness sterling silver forks, non sharp knifes and spoons, serving flatware, and my choice of waterford and baccarat stemware - all from the wedding acquisitions of an ancestor that got married in the early part of the 1800s. Yeah, but how many colanders do you have? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/44 "2013-11-26T05:40:40Z")
I would show up just to see what kind of chaos this dinner’s going to be ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/45 "2013-11-26T10:47:09Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > Yeah, but how many colanders do you have? 4 metal, 2 plastic, a [tambour set [coarse, medium and fine]](http://img0.etsystatic.com/015/0/6586839/il_340x270.448733852_rgf1.jpg), a [chinoise](http://www.marketmanila.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/1chinoise1.JPG) and a [mouli](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__LeR7tWnVck/TKiLsbdVG5I/AAAAAAAAAGo/bmOuj_2WT_o/s1600/food+mill.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/46 "2013-11-26T11:21:54Z")
People, please. [This is Marney.](http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2009/11/26/awkward-family-story-the-thanksgiving-letter/) [This is Marnie.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB52iP2a_MY) I know who I would rather spend my thanksgiving with. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/47 "2013-11-26T19:26:07Z")
For finally agreeing to speak to them, she didn’t say a whole lot. That ‘interview’ was an epic fail. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/48 "2013-11-26T20:34:44Z")
What ‘interview’? And BTW, _fifteen pounds_ of mashed potatoes? How much does each person eat anyhow? I’m trying to imagine how many people must have been at this dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/49 "2013-11-26T20:43:56Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > What ‘interview’? Whoops, I thought **sandra\_nz** had linked to it in her post. Here [it](http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/videos/the-thanksgiving-letter-marney-speaks/) is. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/50 "2013-11-26T20:51:22Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > What ‘interview’? > > And BTW, _fifteen pounds_ of mashed potatoes? How much does each person eat anyhow? I’m trying to imagine how many people must have been at this dinner. I just weighed a couple of potatoes, 13 oz. each. That would feed 19 people, not counting the weight of any milk/cream that might be used in the taters. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/51 "2013-11-26T20:57:43Z")
I have my doubts as to the veracity of that interview. I did notice the shot of the wine glass, though. Think the interviewer was on the ball enough to remember to bring a clos du bois? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/52 "2013-11-26T21:36:05Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > What ‘interview’? > > > > And BTW, _fifteen pounds_ of mashed potatoes? How much does each person eat anyhow? I’m trying to imagine how many people must have been at this dinner. > > I just weighed a couple of potatoes, 13 oz. each. That would feed 19 people, not counting the weight of any milk/cream that might be used in the taters. Perhaps the problem is that I am not a fan of mashed potatoes, so to me, more than a spoonful is too much. But my Google search results are telling me that a pound of whole potatoes results in two cups of mashed potatoes and that a “standard” serving is about 3/4 cup per person. So the fifteen pounds specified by Marney should result in about thirty cups of mashed potatoes or enough for about 40 people. Given the number of families involved, I can imagine that there might have been that many people at Marney’s house for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/53 "2013-11-26T21:40:50Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > For finally agreeing to speak to them, she didn’t say a whole lot. That ‘interview’ was an epic fail. Also, thanks for the link. I can imagine that she was pissed at the idea of being made fun of and that’s the reason she was a little terse in the interview. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/54 "2013-11-26T21:50:18Z")
I don’t see why everyone is giving this person such a hard time. After all, the other 364 days of the year, this person is defending our freedom to have Thanksgiving in the first place without giving a second thought to personal welfare, so I think that others can hold off for one day a year…wait, what? “Marnie”? Not “Marine”? 😃 (Seriously, when I read the subject, I swore it said “Marine”…) BTW, in the letter, it’s spelled “Marney”. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/55 "2013-11-26T22:54:41Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Perhaps the problem is that I am not a fan of mashed potatoes, so to me, more than a spoonful is too much. But my Google search results are telling me that a pound of whole potatoes results in two cups of mashed potatoes and that a “standard” serving is about 3/4 cup per person. So the fifteen pounds specified by Marney should result in about thirty cups of mashed potatoes or enough for about 40 people. Given the number of families involved, I can imagine that there might have been that many people at Marney’s house for dinner. 3/4 cup of potatoes is a pretty big serving when it isn’t Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving you have (in this case), stuffing, green beans (or asparagus), squash, turnips (which everyone hates, but must be brought), turkey, cranberries (I would assume), bread or rolls (same assumption) and pie with ice cream. And beforehand, everyone has been noshing away on beer, wine, Lisa’s veggie tray, and Michelle’s prosciutto pinwheel. Because of the number of dishes that go out for Thanksgiving, that is a lot of potatoes. Or they have a family that loves their potatos and doesn’t like green beans or squash. And if there are 30 people coming, they need more pie. They have sixteen pieces of pie and a gallon of ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/56 "2013-11-26T23:01:07Z")
I need mashed potatoes so I can meet the aliens. Again ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597/57 "2013-11-26T23:29:54Z")
And if anyone needs to ask why we spend Thanksgiving at the bar, I’ll just point 'em to this thread. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-again-for-the-infamous-thanksgiving-letter-by-marnie/674597.md?page=2)