Better completely thaw turkey
Years ago my brotherin-law introduced me to the joys of deep-fried turkey. For me, it was an epiphany. Instead of baking the bird in an oven for hours, the process could be completed in as little as 45 minutes. What’s more, deep-frying results in meat that is both juicy and tasty, depending on which spices you inject in the bird. (For my brother-inlaw, it was his own secret Cajun concoction.)
The process is relatively simple. You immerse the bird in peanut oil heated in a pot over a gas burner to about 375 degrees, leaving it for about 3 minutes per pound. (So a 15 pound turkey would cook for about 45 minutes.) Simple.
Except.
I forgot an important point. The bird must be completely thawed. If you put a frozen turkey in boiling peanut oil, it sort of “explodes,” spewing boiling oil out to about 10 feet and, when it comes in contact with your gas burner, flames up about 10 feet. (Google “exploding turkey.”) I understand that people have burned down entire neighborhoods putting frozen turkeys in boiling oil.
You know, it seems a lot of folks, even Christians, have immersed themselves in hate here lately. And they have spewed that hatefulness over nearly everyone with whom they come in contact. Many people cloak that hatefulness in selfrighteousness, convinced that anyone who disagrees with them is either being deceitful or stupid. I have seen people “burn bridges” and destroy friendships because they are so self-assured and arrogant. And it’s a shame.
Christians, of all people, should instead immerse themselves in the Holy Spirit and try to show others the character traits that should flow from that immersion. Among those traits are patience, kindness, meekness (AKA: humility) and self-control. We’re living in very intense times right now.
Christians need to exert a calming influence on an otherwise angry world. If we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit, we can be.
Otherwise, we’re just following an angry crowd.
“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [meekness] and self-control.” — Galatians 5:22-23a
— Doug Chastain is a retired teacher and is currently a large-vehicle transportation specialist for the Siloam Springs School District. (, he drives a bus.) He is also a grass maintenance technician at Camp Siloam. (Yeah, he mows the lawn.) You can contact him at dougchastain@gmail.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.