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<v Speaker 1>High Excursionists. It's me Narri. I wanted to take a

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<v Speaker 1>minute to let you know that I'm going to be

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<v Speaker 1>launching my own website. This will be a place for

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<v Speaker 1>all of my excursionists to keep up with my current

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<v Speaker 1>and future projects. The site is counting down to going live,

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<v Speaker 1>and there is a place to sign up to become

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<v Speaker 1>a story in my library. Library members will receive special

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<v Speaker 1>perks that will be announced later, but the important part

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<v Speaker 1>is that when you sign up for early access, you

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<v Speaker 1>will be a member for free for the foreseeable future.

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<v Speaker 1>Once the site goes live, the early access period will end,

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<v Speaker 1>and after that there will be a small membership fee required.

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to seeing each and every one of

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<v Speaker 1>you over at Narynarrates dot com so that you can

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<v Speaker 1>join me on all of my upcoming adventures. Welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>Endo the Night. I'm Narri, your guide on today's excursion

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<v Speaker 1>down a twisted path. Be careful not to get lost.

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<v Speaker 1>Be it dark or light, it's easy to lose your way.

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<v Speaker 1>Are you ready, then let's begin food for thought. When

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<v Speaker 1>I was a child, I remember my grandfather telling me

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<v Speaker 1>stories of how the world was when he was a

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<v Speaker 1>younger man. It sounded like a fantasy to me, and

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<v Speaker 1>I sometimes had to catch myself from laughing aloud when

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<v Speaker 1>he told me some of his tales. I was pretty

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<v Speaker 1>sure he exaggerated much of the time, but I was

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<v Speaker 1>grateful to still have my grandfather, and it made him

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<v Speaker 1>happy to talk about the past, so I indulged him. Still,

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<v Speaker 1>I wonder if they were true.

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<v Speaker 2>Asher. I'm going to tell you about the time that

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<v Speaker 2>your grandmother first invited me to her family's Thanksgiving dinner.

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<v Speaker 2>I was nervous as all get out, but I kept

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<v Speaker 2>my knees from knocking too loudly and made it to

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<v Speaker 2>her parents' house at twelve o'clock sharp, just like I

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<v Speaker 2>was told to do. Her mother, bless her soul, was

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<v Speaker 2>warm and friendly. Her father and brothers not so much.

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<v Speaker 2>They weren't sure what to think of this hay seed

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<v Speaker 2>Adelaide had attached herself to at college. Looking back, I

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<v Speaker 2>can't blame them. I was a tall, gangly hic just

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<v Speaker 2>off the farm in my first semester of college, and

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<v Speaker 2>I wasn't exactly as smooth or Debonnair. I was one

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<v Speaker 2>part bluetick Hound and the other part Faulkner. At that time,

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<v Speaker 2>it was a battle to decide which side would win. Well,

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<v Speaker 2>there I stood staring at a house full of people

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<v Speaker 2>I didn't know, with them staring back at me, and

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<v Speaker 2>I thought I might bolt or pass out. Then Adelaide

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<v Speaker 2>came from the kitchen and gave me that sweet smile

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<v Speaker 2>of hers. I knew in that instant I'd better get

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<v Speaker 2>to know all these people, because Adelaide was going to

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<v Speaker 2>be in my life forever. She introduced me all around,

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<v Speaker 2>and pretty soon we were talking and laughing. It was

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<v Speaker 2>already one of the best days of my life. Then

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<v Speaker 2>her mother announced that dinner was served Ashure. So much

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<v Speaker 2>food sat on that long table that there was barely

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<v Speaker 2>room for our dinner plates and glasses. Two huge turkeys,

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<v Speaker 2>a hamp green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, candied yams, gravy,

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<v Speaker 2>homemade cranberry sauce with oranges in it. I ate until

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<v Speaker 2>I wasn't sure I could move, so did everyone at

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<v Speaker 2>the table. A good time was had by all, as

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<v Speaker 2>the saying goes. Her mother then smiled sweetly and said,

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<v Speaker 2>I hope everyone has left room for dessert. A communal

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<v Speaker 2>groan spread around the room. Maybe after we've had a

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<v Speaker 2>little time to watch some football, and some of this

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<v Speaker 2>food is digested. You're the best baker around, Deer, so

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I just won't pass up your pumpkin pie.

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<v Speaker 2>Just give us a bit. Her husband rubbed his swollen stomach.

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<v Speaker 2>She laughed.

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<v Speaker 1>I had a feeling that's what you were going to say.

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<v Speaker 1>If anyone decides they do want more of the dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>there's plenty left. The desserts were nothing to scoff at.

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<v Speaker 1>Once we'd watched the game on television, we decided the

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<v Speaker 1>dessert sounded pretty good. My eyes flew open at the site.

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<v Speaker 1>Sweets and baked goods of all kinds covered the same

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<v Speaker 1>long table the dinner was served on. I think I

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<v Speaker 1>ate more that day than I've ever eaten in my

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<v Speaker 1>entire life. I was used to a lot of food,

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<v Speaker 1>but this was a dream come true for a young

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<v Speaker 1>man who was squeaking by at college. Adelaide and I

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<v Speaker 1>attended her parents' Thanksgiving feast every year during college and afterward.

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<v Speaker 1>We married as soon as we graduated, and it didn't

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<v Speaker 1>matter where work took me or where we lived. Thanksgiving

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<v Speaker 1>was spent with her folks, and that family provided me

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<v Speaker 1>with wonderful memories. I looked at my grandfather, wide eyed.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that true? Was there really all that food? He

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<v Speaker 1>gave me that sweet smile of his and said, yes, Azure,

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<v Speaker 1>it's true. Families everywhere ate like that on Thanksgiving, slack jawed.

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<v Speaker 1>I stared in disbelief.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you have any other stories you can tell me, Grandpa?

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<v Speaker 2>He reached for his pipe, tapped it to remove the

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<v Speaker 2>old tobacco, filled it, and then lit a match. He

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<v Speaker 2>took a few puffs and continued with his tails. When

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<v Speaker 2>I was working on my graduate studies, few of my

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<v Speaker 2>professors took a liking or at least pity on me.

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<v Speaker 2>Adelaide and I were scraping by on not much. I

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<v Speaker 2>worked as a teaching assistant at the university, but the

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<v Speaker 2>pay was a dismal. She had a teaching job, but

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<v Speaker 2>that barely paid anything at all. We managed to get by,

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<v Speaker 2>but that was all we were doing, getting by. My

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<v Speaker 2>professors and their wives took us in at least once

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<v Speaker 2>a week. We ate at one of the three professors homes.

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<v Speaker 2>It was a grand multicultural adventure. One wife was German

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<v Speaker 2>and she loved to cook authentic dishes from home. The

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<v Speaker 2>same with another wife who was from the Philippines. The

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<v Speaker 2>third wife was from the Deep South here in America,

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<v Speaker 2>and she fixed the best fried chicken and collared greens

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<v Speaker 2>to be found. They weren't skimpy on the portions, and

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<v Speaker 2>they always insisted that we take leftovers with us, like

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<v Speaker 2>a king and a queen. Thanks to them, I kept

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<v Speaker 2>in touch with every one of them until they eventually

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<v Speaker 2>died years later. They were good people. Adelaide and the

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<v Speaker 2>wives swapped recipes too, so they learned how to make

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<v Speaker 2>homemade cranberry sauce just like my mother in law made it,

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<v Speaker 2>and Adelaide knew how to cook the international dishes we loved.

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<v Speaker 2>My mouth water is every time I think of his stories,

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<v Speaker 2>I wonder what those foods were like from Germany and

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<v Speaker 2>the Philippines. What did Southern fried chicken taste like. I

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<v Speaker 2>shouldn't torture myself thinking of these things. It's not the

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<v Speaker 2>way the world works, at least not the world as

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<v Speaker 2>it is today. I'm so hungry, but I agonize over

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<v Speaker 2>going to the food pantry. I've seen what it's done

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<v Speaker 2>to people. I'm afraid my choice is to die of

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<v Speaker 2>starvation or die of vegetable, albeit a fat one. There's

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<v Speaker 2>no escaping that we are all dying one way or another.

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<v Speaker 2>I just want to say, still be me when I do.

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<v Speaker 2>The hunger is gnawing at me day and night, though,

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<v Speaker 2>and my brothers and sisters tell me I need to

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<v Speaker 2>stop dying on the sword of conviction. They say I

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<v Speaker 2>should go ahead and just eat. I remember the stories

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<v Speaker 2>Grandpa told me, and that seems like a completely different

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<v Speaker 2>world than we live in today. How could there have

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<v Speaker 2>been so much plenty? How could people all on their

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<v Speaker 2>own have access to so much food without strings attached?

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<v Speaker 2>How could they have enough to share with friends and neighbors.

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<v Speaker 2>Why do I have to be the one making a

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<v Speaker 2>choice that will be a loser either way. I have

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<v Speaker 2>been to the food pantry before it was awful. We

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<v Speaker 2>could choose anything they had available, but each item came

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<v Speaker 2>with a sticker that had a number on it that

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<v Speaker 2>was the price for having that item to eat. An

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<v Speaker 2>apple was five, a block of cheese was fifteen, a

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<v Speaker 2>piece of meat was fifty. The amount of food chosen

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<v Speaker 2>was only dependent upon what the person was willing to sacrifice.

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<v Speaker 2>I've been to the food pantry and allowed myself to

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<v Speaker 2>be stolen. I can tell something is missing in me

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<v Speaker 2>Grandpa once told me never go shopping on an empty stomach,

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<v Speaker 2>because you'll want everything in the store. I was starving,

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<v Speaker 2>and I tried to choose inexpensive food. I didn't want

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<v Speaker 2>to end up devoid of what makes me who I am.

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<v Speaker 2>I put more food into my cart than I intended,

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<v Speaker 2>and I ate it far too quickly. I know there's

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<v Speaker 2>no escape. I cried at the food pantry. Once my

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<v Speaker 2>cart of food was scanned and bagged, they led me

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<v Speaker 2>to a room in the back. A chair, not unlike

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<v Speaker 2>the electric chairs they used in prisons for executions, sat

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<v Speaker 2>with wires coming out of a control box. They strapped

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<v Speaker 2>me in and placed a helmet over my head. My

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<v Speaker 2>jolt was painful, and I could feel my thoughts being

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<v Speaker 2>drained from my mind. Five thoughts for the apple, fifteen

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<v Speaker 2>for the block of cheese, and so on. I wept.

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<v Speaker 2>I've been to the pantry five times in the last

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<v Speaker 2>two months. I've tried to ration the food as best

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<v Speaker 2>I can, but it's been a week since I ate anything.

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<v Speaker 2>I've struggled watching others indulging in the food with no care.

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<v Speaker 1>In the world.

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<v Speaker 2>I resent the people who are perfectly content to allow

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<v Speaker 2>the government to take their thoughts.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't care as long as my belly is full.

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<v Speaker 1>Who needs useless thoughts?

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<v Speaker 2>Anyway? Some people have told me they don't care that

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<v Speaker 2>the government is making sure they have complete control of us.

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<v Speaker 2>I swear they orchestrated the famine just so they could

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<v Speaker 2>subjugate the masses today. Right now, as I speak, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>afraid I'm giving into the temptation. What good are my

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<v Speaker 2>thoughts when I'm dead? What good are independent thoughts if

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<v Speaker 2>the government is going to win in the end? Anyway,

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<v Speaker 2>I'm sorry, Grandpa, I know you would have wanted me

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<v Speaker 2>to resist. I can't take the starvation any longer, and

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<v Speaker 2>maybe part of me thinks life would be much easier

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<v Speaker 2>if I didn't have to think. The government will make

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<v Speaker 2>all the decisions anyway. So here I am at the

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<v Speaker 2>door of the food pantry. I think it's time I

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<v Speaker 2>go on a shopping spree. Before long, life will seem easy.

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<v Speaker 2>I won't have to make any decisions again.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you for joining me for this episode of the

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<v Speaker 1>Into the Night Anthology podcast. Written by Caroline Giamanco, narrated

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<v Speaker 1>by Nari Quak, the music by Nico Rodriguez. All other

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<v Speaker 1>original music, sound design, and editing by Omenhawk Studios. You

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<v Speaker 1>can find our links in the show notes. Into the

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<v Speaker 1>Night is on your favorite podcatcher, so make sure to like, subscribe,

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<v Speaker 1>and leave a five star review to help other excursionists

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<v Speaker 1>to join us. I'll see you next time, and remember,

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<v Speaker 1>whether in the shadows or in the daylight, all twisted

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<v Speaker 1>paths lead you into the night. Into the Night Anthology

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<v Speaker 1>is a creative typo entertainment production