Welcome to the Moth.
I'm Chloe Salmon.
Every year, in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving,
I start getting inundated with social media posts that feature photos of aspirational feats of culinary wizardry.
For this holiday, the food is the star of the show.
Expectations are high, and honestly, it's kind of stressful.
This year, I propose we all chill out a little, take a collective breath,
and say, look, the turkey is probably going to be kind of dry.
Your cousin's new fling may bring an abomination of a mayo-based side,
and your new pie recipe might betray you.
And you know what?
It's okay.
Food disasters make for better family lore anyway.
So in this episode, we're leaning out of perfection and into messiness,
with three stories of food gone wrong.
First up, we have Ellie Tonkin.
She told this at a Boston Story slam where the theme of the night was grudge.
Here's Ellie.
When I was in grade school, most kids got the hot lunch for 25 cents a day.
I really wanted to be like most kids.