I decided to throw a shindig at my place two weeks before Thanksgiving to make my announcement formal. The theme was “The Color Purple—Rocky Horror Picture Show style.” Each person coming in would take a piece of paper with a character’s name on it. Once the movie started, when a scene came on including your character, you had to stand up and say the line from memory with your back to the TV. I had the closed caption on so the rest of the “audience” could vouch if you had it right or wrong. Since it seemed everybody in my circle swore they knew the movie, front, backwards and sideways, I knew it was going to be a blast.
Since I knew people faced an onslaught of turkey and fixings in a matter of weeks, my potluck menu requested side dishes associated with southern living but with a twist.
