Snack Cart Thanksgiving special

Three videos to help you take a break from the day

This is the fourth time I’ve sent this particular email. Like a beloved TV Thanksgiving special, it’s fun for me to revisit this and saves me some time. Wherever you are and whoever you are with, I’m grateful that you take time of out of your life to read Snack Cart. It means the world to me. Happy Thanksgiving.

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Thanksgiving is full of pauses. Especially if you are cooking, there are times you are sorta just trapped there while you wait for a pot to boil or a timer to get to 00:00. Those small breaks are good for running down to see 30 seconds of the parade or to check the score of the football game. They are also great for watching a short video on your phone. I'm including three videos that I find myself watching just about every Thanksgiving. I suggest you leave today's Cart in your inbox and watch (or rewatch) each one when you you need it.

Butterball Hotline

Length: 4:30
Perfect for: When it's not actually worth walking away from the oven.

The West Wing was always great with Thanksgiving episodes. They were a perfect hook for the mix of shmaltz and seriousness that Sorkin really loves. There are a lot of great clips like "Shibboleth" or "Pilgrim Detectives," but none compare to this one. I start laughing as soon as President Bartlett says, "I'm a citizen" pretty much every time.

OK, fine, here's the one of President Bartlett giving Charlie the knife if you want to cry instead.  

Alice's Restaurant

Length: 18:15
Perfect for: Just about the time it takes to boil six quarts of tap water.

The song is weird and way, way, way too long. It's also only nominally about Thanksgiving. Still, it's iconic, fun, funny, and worth a listen at least once during the day. This song has a weird kind of counter-cultural hopefulness to it that we could all use. It's nice to imagine a world where sheer collective absurdity can overcome bureaucratic evil.

WKRP in Cincinnati - "Turkeys Away" 

Length: 24:57
Perfect for: When you just need a break from everything, you know?

My parents love nothing as much as they love 70s and 80s television. That's why, about ten years ago, they started making me and my sister watch this every Thanksgiving. I'm glad they did, because it is one the funniest scenes in television history.

"WKRP in Cincinnati" was a show was about a struggling radio station that has just switched formats from easy listening to rock and roll. In this episode, the station manager, feeling left out by the new staff, tries to get more involved. He comes up with a secret Thanksgiving promotion that he says will make history. All he needs is 20 live turkeys.

This isn’t officially streaming anywhere, but the climax lives in a million clips. If you can find the entire episode, it’s worth watching so that the final line really *puts on sunglasses* lands. Once you've watched, read this oral history of the episode. It's based on real events!