Editor’s note: Welcome to Thanksgiving in Albert Lea! How wonderful you could be in the community for this grand feast. The following is a fill-in-the blank mad-lib story about visiting family in Albert Lea for a Thanksgiving celebration. We’d like your help with the story about how a traditional Thanksgiving turned into one quite the contrary.

This is a Thanksgiving tale that happened _____ (number) years ago, right here in Albert Lea.

It all began on a ___________ and ____________ (adjective) Thanksgiving Day. The family traveled near and far to eat and visit with  _______________ (relative).

The meal was finally ready to serve. The turkey was stuffed with _______________(favorite food). We had ________________ (odd vegetable) from the Albert Lea Farmers Market, mashed potatoes and gravy, and wild ______________ (exotic animal) as a turkey alternative. The __________________ and ______________ (adjectives) pies were ready to be served as was the ________________ (beverage).

We all sat down at the dinner table and said a blessing on the food, when __________________ (person in room) started talking about ___________________ (stressful topic) that they read in the Albert Lea Tribune.

__________________ (another person in the room) immediately chimed in, and the two began __________________ (verb) back and forth. Before we knew it, __________________ (first person in room) picked up a ________________ (utensil) and flung ________________ (Thanksgiving food).

____________________ (second person in room) in return picked up a ________________ (utensil) and flung back ____________________ (Thanksgiving food).

____________________ and __________________ (children’s names) watched intently and decided to join in. ___________________ (first child) grabbed a handful of ____________________ (Thanksgiving food) and _______________ (second child) grabbed more ______________________ (Thanksgiving food).

________________________ and ______________________ (Thanksgiving foods) were all over the dining room.

Somehow, amidst all the activity, _____________________ (relative) got hit in the ___________________ (body part) with ______________________ (Thanksgiving food) and then passed out.

We _________________ (adverb ending in -ly) carried him/her to the __________________ (place in Albert Lea) where a doctor checked her  out.

After ____________ (number) minutes of waiting, the doctor came out and told us __________________ (relative) would be OK.

“Thank goodness,” __________________ (first person in the room) said.

“I’m ____________________ (feeling) things got out of hand,” ___________________ (second person in room) said.

“Let’s all go back to ____________________’s (relative) house,” _________________ (first person in room) said. “We won’t be able to enjoy the ____________________ and __________________ (Thanksgiving foods), but we can see if ________________________ (favorite local pizza place) will deliver.”

The family learned their lesson. Don’t let ______________________ (stressful topic) get in the way of enjoying a ______________________ (adjective) holiday with those you love.