​Okay, so maybe I missed the boat just a little bit on this one.
 
When the girls were young, they loved the weeks after Thanksgiving when the Sunday papers were filled with “toy mazagines.” 

They scoured the circulars like they were researchers at the Library of Congress, and the item they circled most often was Nintendo. Neither girl was big on Barbie or all that girly stuff like Little Miss Make-up and Junior Nail Salon, which saved me from joining in the fun for all ages and the blackmail-worthy photos that would follow.
 
What they did want, though, was a Nintendo console. Wanted, wanted, wanted, needed, needed, hadtohaveitbecauseitwasthemostimportantandbestestgameever. And I knew they would play it, because they loved to play Super Mario—or maybe they were just Mario Brothers then—at other kids' homes. You could take Stephanie to her cousins’ house, plop her down in front of the Nintendo and watch her get to level 847 within minutes. She wouldn’t get around to learning to read for another year or two, but learning Nintendo was worth the effort.
 
Dad, on the other hand, viewed video games as a waste of time and a missed opportunity for learning. Educational games, smart games, games like chess and that thing where you flipped the cards and had to remember where the matches were—those were the games for my girls.
 
So I decided to let the other kids rot out their minds while I gave my children the gift of a refined intellect, superior analytical skills and only a remote risk of carpal tunnel syndrome.
 
I bought them (imagine a drum rolllllllllllll….) Socrates, the “educational video system” that “stimulates children’s minds” and “helps them become better students.” And all of it was true! Through Socrates, the girls learned some incredible lessons that have stayed with them and influenced their thinking to this day. Lessons like:

• How sad it is to be the only girl in your class without Nintendo.
• How to get invitations to play Nintendo at someone else’s house.
• How to hide the AC adapter for Socrates.
• How to deal with the fact that dad is a total dork.
  

 
Ah, the lessons that last a lifetime.
 
Also,  Socrates provided a lifetime of opportunities for the girls to remind their father that they were, um, disappointed by his choice. They capitalized on that opportunity relentlessly, telling strangers everywhere that they were cheated out of a normal childhood, condemned to solitary confinement with a Socrates console.
 
"Look, Lin-Manuel Miranda just won his 9,000th Tony Award. He must have had Socrates when he was a kid. Isn’t that right, dad?"

"Yes, Mr. cabdriver, I'm 27 years old and I can sing the entire ABC song because my dad got me Socrates. Aren't you so proud of me, dad?"
 
"I’m glad your surgery was a success, but getting new kidneys isn’t nearly as great a gift as when my dad bought me Socrates. Hey, dad, remember that year?"
 
I get it, kids. You’re being just a bit sarcastic, aren’t you?
 
I can’t say I regret the choice, though, because Socrates has been a running gag and a family story for a long time. Many years of therapy have relieved the girls of some of the post-traumatic disorders they developed without Nintendo. And my daughters are now so much more sensitive to the needs of others, mostly because I destroyed their dreams and hopes when they were tots.
 
A couple of years ago, the girls bought me a Socrates console they found on e-Bay or Craig’s List or somewhere. We couldn't play with it, of course, because it doesn't have a USB port or an HDMI cable any other connector that would work with a video screen today.

But connectivity isn't the real reason I haven't played with Socrates yet. Truth be told, I’m waiting for them to get me a Nintendo.

(While the kids are out shopping for my Nintendo console, you can give me another great gift by sharing this post with a friend or two and, by all means, subscribing to our occasional rants. Just click here to subscribe, and thanks much for reading.)

After last week’s post about how to carve a turkey, I’ve received thousands of messages from people who all worry about the same thing: “How can I up my Thanksgiving game if I’m just a guest and not the carver?”
 
Fear not, innumerable inquirers.  I have been freeloading off friends and family for decades, so I know all the insider tips you can follow to be a rock star guest at Thanksgiving dinner. 

1. Arrive early. Restaurants like to have a “soft opening” to work out the kinks and your hosts are no different. Show up 45 minutes before the official starting time with a list of your dietary needs so they can hone their food-service skills before the other guests arrive.
2. If you’ve been asked to bring an appetizer or a side dish, remember that freshness is key. Simply bring the ingredients in a paper bag, grab some space on their counter and whip up an al fresco treat.
3. Be generous with your time by greeting all the other guests and showing a personal interest in each one. Ask Cousin Edna if she is pregnant again or if she merely discovered a great new IPA. Compliment nephew Theodore on his new braces and offer him the choice of being called either Fence Face or Tinsel Teeth for the next three years. 
4. Keep the conversation going before dinner and make sure everyone gets a chance to take part. After all your siblings and cousins arrive, for example, ask Grandma if you can have her jewelry when she dies.
5. Help your hosts with the final steps in food preparation by opening the oven and adding some “secret spices” to the turkey. Be imaginative here to avoid the same old "turkey" flavor.
6. As soon as the main course is on the table, share that funny video with the turkey in the wood chipper. Humor brings people so much closer together, as you know.
7. Help keep your older relatives engaged in the conversation. Remember to ask Gramps what he thinks about those people who moved in down the street. If he isn’t aware of any, fill in the blanks for him.
8. It's important to remember the reason for the holiday, so ask each person at the table to share a thought about what makes them thankful this year. When it’s your turn, just look skyward and say Donald Trump (or Nancy Pelosi), and sigh.  Everyone will have so much fun in the joyous conversation that follows.
9. If you’ve been asked to bring a dessert, nothing says holiday like leftover Halloween candy. Who doesn’t love candy corn and Mary Janes? 
10. Your hosts want to know that you really enjoyed their food, so be sure to bring a cooler and several plastic containers for the leftovers you’ll be taking home with you. Leave nothing behind, because that might suggest they failed as hosts and you absolutely don’t want to hurt their feelings.

 
These tips are guaranteed to make you the most talked-about guest at Thanksgiving this year, and possibly for all time. Even better, you’ll be meeting great people in 2019 and beyond as your hosts find new places for you to be the best guest ever.
 
And, really, isn’t that what Thanksgiving is all about?
 
Of course, I would be really thankful if you share this post on social media or email, and especially if you honor me by subscribing to our weekly musings at dadwrites.com. Just click here. 
 
 
 

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Thanksgiving’s coming up this month and a lot of guys are starting to stress out about their big moment in the spotlight.

Hah, only kidding. Guys don’t think about stuff in advance, unless it has brackets, a tee time, or a swimsuit issue. We like to think we thrive under pressure, so the last minute is plenty o' time. Most guys reading this will stop right here and make a mental note to revisit this post at 3:30 p.m. on the 22nd, except for Canadians, who are already too late. Moving on...
 
For manly men across America, the biggest moment to shine each year involves the super-macho expertise that everyone assumes we have and nobody ever teaches: carving the turkey. Yeah, I know, there are a million videos on YouTube, but real men don’t read instruction manuals and we certainly don’t need to watch some dude in a toque telling us how to use a knife. The last person to cut up our meat for us (Insert Lorena Bobbitt joke here.) was mommy, and we were two at the time.
 
Carving the turkey is a guy thing, as it has been since we were Neanderthals (Insert ‘You still are Neanderthals’ joke here.) living in caves. No matter how much time mom spends tying and basting and seasoning and schlepping the bird around the kitchen, dad gets the final shot at doing a Rambo on the finished product. 
 
For some reason, people think it’s natural that men will carve the turkey. We’re the hunters in a world of hunters and gatherers. All the great knife people were men, like Jim Bowie and old MacHeath, babe, and Mr. Swiss Army…so women assume there must be something in our DNA that makes us great turkey carvers.
 
Except, of course, that we don’t really have a clue, and by “we,” I mean “I.” I never learned to whittle and I don’t even watch Top Chef for gawdsakes. If someone told me to go pack my knives, I’d need to stop at Williams Sonoma to buy some first.
 
Still, if you’re the oldest guy at Thanksgiving dinner and your parole allows you to handle sharp objects, someone is going to urge you to carve the turkey. When that happens, it’s important to approach the ritual with the aura of expertise and confidence that dads have been faking since the dawn of time.
 
So, guys, get yourselves some Botox injections to keep a straight face and follow these simple steps:

1. First, look seriously at the turkey and make some comment to your wife about this year’s version of a Thanksgiving feast. “Hmm, this bird should have spent more time in the rain," or, “They put too much nutmeg extract in their feed again this year.” It’s important to establish that you know your fowl.
2. Next, take at least three knives from the drawer and examine them all. Hold each blade up to the light and then align it with the direction of your first slice. Try to keep a straight face as you announce, “Yes, I’ll use the  28-inch Mohelmaster for this one,” and put the other two knives into the sink.
3. Send everyone out of the room. “You know, this takes a lot of concentration and I’d hate to injure any of you, so perhaps you’ll want to grab your seats in the dining room,” you’ll say. Be firm, promising that the carving will be completed sooner and you only need the privacy for their safety.
4. When everyone is out of the room, start hacking away at the turkey with any tools you can find. Power saws and cold chisels are absolutely acceptable choices, as are pipe wrenches and titanium drill bits. Feel free to use your hands to rip off the drumsticks and thighs rather than using either the knife or those kitchen shears you got for your wedding and never took out of the box.  Speed is more important than skill here, because you need to finish before anyone gets bored at the dinner table and decides to peek at your “technique.”
5. Get everything you can cut off the carcass onto the counter and then transfer it all to a clean, grease-free platter before washing all the turkey grease off your hands. In food-service, it’s all in the presentation, so you can look professional even with tiny, crumbly slices, as long as the platter and your hands are clean. In our master class, we recommend adding sprigs of parsley (Insert parsley joke here.) around the corners of the platter to distract people from the uneven slices. 
6. Present the platter to the family with a sigh and an apology, but never really take the blame and, whatever you do, don’t try to pass the buck to mom. “Sorry I couldn’t get all the slices even this year, but you know how it is with (free range, hormone free, frozen, fresh, Nebraskan, Rastafarian, vegan, whatever) birds. But I’m sure it will taste great, because mom makes the best turkey.” Awwww.

 
After everyone tells you that it’s certain to be fine and you really know how to carve a turkey, mumble some thanks and start passing the platter. And never, ever, ever bring up the subject again.
 
Having perfected the process of pretending to know what I’m doing—a true dadskill—I’ve succeeded in carving turkeys without any deaths* for over forty years.  More recently, being a really generous guy, I’ve graciously allowed a son-in-law or nephew to do the honors. They’ve never really attained my level of expertise yet, but that’s probably because I haven’t sent them this post.

*By "deaths," I am referring to instances in which I was actually charged and convicted, so I am not counting the grease slide of 1997 or the 2003 wishbone impalement in my official record. 

And while we're on the subject, be sure to carve some time out of your busy schedule to receive all our weekly musings, rants and occasionally insightful ideas. Just click here to subscribe.

Thank you for contacting our customer support center, although we wish you would have followed our suggestions—27 times in the 40 minutes you were on hold—that you visit our website instead. Frankly, we’re impressed by people like you who stay on the line while we bombard you with reminders that you could hang up the phone and get all the information you need online. If we ever get into a staring contest, we want you on our team.

Let us remind you, yet again, that you could go to the Frequently Asked Questions tab on our website to obtain information about how to get to our website, the products we sell, and how to make us your home page. We cannot imagine that there was any reason for you to call our support center, if only you had scoured all 2,788 pages of our newly revised, more user-friendly online presence.

But you didn’t do that, did you? No, you called customer support and spoke with Agnes, so now we need to follow up and find out how well she met your needs, which are very important to us and certainly could have been met if you had gone to our website.

Please note that Agnes might have pleaded with you to give her a 10 rating in every category, if we should happen to ask. She might have wept a bit, as well, suggesting to you that she would be fired on the spot if you gave her anything less than a 10 on anything.

You might have thought she was exaggerating. She wasn’t. We demand perfection in our organization and we expect people like Agnes to deliver that perfection 120% of the time.

Agnes is the sole support of her mother, aunt, and three children, and she needs to work three jobs to make ends meet, because we contracted for her through an outsourced staffing firm that provides no benefits. But don’t let that sway you in your assessment of her performance when you called (instead of visiting our website). Please answer the following questions to let us know what you think of Agnes:

1. Although Agnes has no authority to approve any requests or provide any answers not already included in the FAQ tab ON THE WEBSITE, she solved my problem entirely. (10-absolutely agree; 1-9 fire Agnes)
2. Agnes responded to all of my questions in a fully professional manner and never needed to put me on hold to look up any information. (10-yes; 1-9 Replace Agnes with a FAQ list on the WEBSITE.)
3. Although I was frustrated with the products, the service, the website, and the long wait to speak to a human being, Agnes convinced me this interaction was the best I have ever had and that I should only buy from you in the future. (10-Amen; 1-9 Throw Agnes out the window.)
4. Now that I know Agnes and her family will starve because I called instead of visiting your new website, the likelihood that I will ever call your customer service center again is… (1-10 I like ruining innocent lives; 0 I’ve learned my lesson.

Thanks for your responses to our survey. We appreciate your business and look forward to engaging with you in the future.
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But only contact us on our website, not by phone. Agnes’s replacement can’t handle the pressure.

​Thank God the pressure is finally off and I can return to normal life. I’ve lost the lottery again.
 
We probably could have predicted this, and not simply because my odds of winning were roughly one in 250 bazillion. I live in Chicago and winners never buy their tickets in a big city. It’s always someplace like Escape, Arkansas or Ignore, Idaho, never Manhattan or Los Angeles or Boston or Miami. Or Chicago.
 
But a potential jackpot of $1.6 billion (slightly more than I earn in a week) beckoned and the guy behind the counter at the Qwik-E-Mart promised to sell me the winning ticket, so I took a shot. Almost immediately, my life fell apart. My days were consumed with research about tax rates and the relative benefits of Swiss banks versus gigantic cookie jars. At night, I’d mourn the death of my favorite excuse—“We can’t afford it,”—and dread the IOUs I’d written against that phrase.
 
My future looked even worse. After I won, which lawyer would I call to set up the LLC? I know a ton of lawyers, mostly a bunch of average Joes who couldn’t get a job after college, so they went to a graduate school that lets them call themselves esquires. I was guaranteed to sadden at least 40 of them and at least as many accountants, who are already sad because they don’t get to call themselves something cool like ESQUIRE. Of course, I could send each of them a million bucks to ease the pain, but it’s the principle of the thing. 
 
Then I had to wrestle with the challenge of sharing with my family and friends, plus guys I met on the bus who would be expecting the new car I promised if/when I won the jackpot. I don’t remember who most of those people are, but I’ll bet they’d remember me after learning I was the big winner.
 
And whatever amount I give them wouldn’t be enough, cuz they’re all greedy, moneygrubbing, spoiled, avaricious parasites who will never be satisfied until they bleed me dry. Oh, did I say that out loud? Oops.
 
Everything in my life would change with that kind of money. I’d need to dump all my loser friends and find a much better class of people to alienate. I’d still be short and asthmatic, and my personality would be, um, an acquired taste, but an increasingly large number of people would somehow find a way to overlook those chasms. Money might not buy happiness, but it buys tons of toleration.
 
Hamburgers with fries would become a thing of the past as I switched to steak tartare with pomme frites. Of course, I wouldn’t have to buy any of my meals, because lawyers, accountants, stock brokers, real estate agents…pretty much everyone would be anxious to show me a good time.
 
With all those free meals, I’d regain all the weight I’ve lost from working with my trainer for the past couple of years, but that’s not a problem for the grotesquely wealthy. I’d just hire some guy with 6% body fat to do my workouts for me. Finally, with enough money, I would learn how to delegate.
 
I’d need to learn new skills, like complaining about the taxes I owe on money I didn’t earn, and keeping a straight face when I tell people I really miss the simpler time when I had to make do without a Lamborghini. (Sorry, two Lamborghinis, because one is always in the shop.)
 
And we’d need to move, of course, because the condo board would get so many complaints about the paparazzi they’d insist we vacate the building. I was thinking of settling down in some rural spot in South Carolina, but it looks like that’s where the winning ticket was sold. After getting such a big break by avoiding the jackpot this week, I’d hate to press my luck where people actually win this thing.