Dave interviews Appalachian students in his quest to discover their unique Thanksgiving traditions, revel in their zany anecdotes and to find out what they're most looking forward to as they head home for the holiday.

Transcript

Dave Blanks: Hey there folks. It’s me Dave Blanks and I’m back once again with another Dave by the Bell. It’s the Thanksgiving edition! Last year I asked people what they were thankful for. People had answers. This year we’re going to try something different and ask them what is unique about their Thanksgiving celebration. Do you have any strange or unusual traditions? Of give me a funny story associated with Thanksgiving or maybe just name something that you are looking forward to that isn’t food related. Everybody wants the food. Let’s see what Appalachian State University students have to say.

Voice 1: I’m Vegan and my family isn’t so I usually cook myself a separate dinner and they are kind of mean. They usually take the turkey and you know rile me up a little bit.

Dave: How so?

Voice 1: My dad will pretend he is a turkey and hold it up to his face and run around while I’m cooking my beans or whatever so I mean...that’s kind of different. I think.

Voice 2: I don’t know if it’s just because I’m from New Jersey or anything but we usually celebrate it with the whole family not just a few of us so it’s usually my dad’s parents and my mom’s parents. I’m most looking forward to going back home. It’ll be the first time since this semester. It’s gonna be good to see the family and everything but mostly to get a break from the school work because it’s been nonstop and the hardest semester I’ve had.

Voice 3: We always make a cheese ball before dinner.

Dave: Do you participate in the making of this cheeseball?

Voice 3: Mmmhmmm.

Dave: Is there something special about this cheeseball?

Voice 3: ummmm

Dave: Does it have wine in it?

Voice 3: I wish.

Voice 4: Well, one thing that we started a while ago was putting nuts on the cranberry sauce. I know that’s kind of lame and probably a lot of people do that.

Dave: What kind of nuts?

Voice 4: I don’t know. They make it and I eat it.

Dave: Pecans?

Voice 4: Yeah pecans!

Dave: You don’t know. You’re just there to eat the food.

Voice 4: Yeah. Just put it on my plate. But I’m looking forward to the day off. Right now everyday I’m up early and going to bed late. I’ve got a lot going on so I’m looking forward to relaxing and hanging out with the family.

Voice 5: My family is from England so we don’t really have the whole American aspect like you know the pilgrim thing. Ours is just centered around being a family. We don’t have the whole historical background to it. When we moved out here we didn’t even know what Thanksgiving was. I guess that’s what makes us unique since we’re not from the country that it originated from and we have different customs.

Voice 6: I’m most looking forward to hanging out with my family because I just got out of the military last year and I’m looking forward to actually spending a Thanksgiving with them and getting back into that tradition.

Voice 7: I’m looking forward to seeing my family. This is the first Thanksgiving I’ve had with them in 5 years because I was in the military too. I just got out so I’m really looking forward to that.

Voice 8: Most of my family can cook really well but my sister will mix the cooking powder with the sugar so it flattens everything and it doesn’t turn out the way it’s supposed to but she’s in Hong Kong this year for Thanksgiving so I’m not going to get to see her so no bad cooking!

Dave: Well that’s good and bad I guess. Happy Thanksgiving, man!

Voice 8: Thank you.

Voice 9: I’m not so sure but we do have this one dessert and we call it blueberry stuff. It’s basically blueberry Jello with whip cream on top. It’s pretty delicious. I’m really looking forward to getting to stay with my sister for the first time since she moved to New York.

Dave: Is it just going to be yall two?

Voice 9: No it’s going to be us two and then our other sister from D.C. is coming up but my parents are splitting to the grandparents and we’re having a sister Thanksgiving.

Voice 10: Every year we cook the turkey differently.

Dave: How did you do it last year?

Voice 10: We fried it in the yard.

Dave: What did you do the year before?

Voice 10: ummmm

Dave: Oh I’m going to keep going!

Voice 11: It’s pretty much the same traditions. We’ll invite relatives over, cook, laugh, watch movies and then fall asleep.

Dave: Is there one particular movie that you usually watch?

Voice 11: It’s a Wonderful Life. They usually show that on Thanksgiving day. I’m really looking forward to relaxing and reflecting on what I’m thankful for.

Voice 12: My mom has a meltdown every Thanksgiving.

Dave: Is that a tradition?

Voice 12: Pretty much. I’m looking forward to the family drama.

Dave: really you crave it?

Voice 12: Yeah I do. It’s funny.

Voice 13: We always play this one weird game called Fishbowl. Everyone puts five names of celebrities into a bowl and you are on two different teams. In the first round you can describe it using any word except what it is. In the second round you can only use one word and in the third round you act it out.

Dave: Cool! So what’s the weirdest one that you’ve ever had to act out?

Voice 13: Oh gosh! My uncle is hispanic and he acted out Ellen Degeneres. That was pretty funny because he didn’t really know who she was so he was really confused.

Voice 14: Yeah we do a pig pickin.

Dave: Okay. How does that work?

Voice 14: my uncle buys a whole pig and we start cooking early in the morning and it’s an all day thing.

Dave: Sweet! That’s cool man that’s a great tradition so has that always been the way you’ve done it? You’ve never had a turkey?

Voice 14: We have a turkey too.

Dave: Oh okay cool so the traditional back-up turkey.

Voice 15: So my family is all vegans.

Dave: All of you?

Voice 15: Well, all except for two. I’m a vegetarian now but I was a vegan. So we make a Tofurkey. We all buy a package of tofu and come together and make it into one Tofurkey.

Dave: So does different tofu taste different? I mean that’s kind of a dumb question sure it does right?

Voice 15: Not really! It’s just white mush.

Dave: Oh Hey and one last thing if we can make our way down the hallway here. It turns out somebody in our department has a really special talent, Chris.

Chris Grulke: Not me.

Dave: It’s not you! It’s actually our boss Megan. Let’s just head into her office here. Okay so for the Thanksgiving edition of Dave by the Bell let’s here your turkey call, Megan. Get your turkey game face on.

Megan Hayes: Okay…( the sound of undeniably perfect turkey call is heard)

Dave: You killed it! Perfect! Thank you, Megan.

Megan: Anytime! I love doing my turkey call.

Dave: I can see why!

Megan: Happy Turkey Day, Dave.

Dave: Awwww thank you. And a Happy Thanksgiving to you out there listener. Thank you for listening. As always, subscribe to us on iTunes. Have a restful and safe break. I’m Dave Blanks and this has been Dave by the Bell.

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Dave by the Bell

Sometimes fun, sometimes serious podcast of impromptu conversations with students and Appalachian State University’s own Dave Blanks.

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About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.