Tunage to Taste Tom Tofurkey to

I'm sitting in Alison's kitchen right now with her and her roommate, Claire. We're waiting for our Housewide Thanksgiving dinner to be ready. I don't know why, but every year the roasted vegetables part of the meal takes way longer than we expect. You're supposed to be able to put a bunch of root veggies in the pan with the Tofurkey, covered in juice, and have them cooked and ready at the same time as the "bird." But we always forget that it never turns out that way, and then end up scrambling to think of ways to finish off the potatoes and carrots and parsnips quickly.

So now we're all sitting around the table, listening to the terrible song choices Songza comes up with while the vegetables sit in a pan under a hot broiler, giving off smoke that smells weirdly like plastic. We had been listening to a Nina Simone CD, and then some Nick Drake, but finally Claire realized we were all looking silently at the floor and generally feeling like all the life had been sapped out of us. Internet music to the rescue!

The "Dad-approved" playlist for dysfunctional family dinners started out OK with some Joni Mitchell, but it quickly devolved into Don Henley, Peter Gabriel, and the Doors. We've been taking turns hitting the "next" button. It's kind of fun, I guess, like The Gong Show.

Now if we can just get some food on the table, this dinner'll be perfect.