Here are just a few Thanksgiving fails – share some of your fun memories in the comment section below!

By Gray Tillett, Staff Writer

For most, Thanksgiving brings happy memories — the smell of freshly made pumpkin pie, the taste of cranberry sauce and the feeling of being surrounded by family for one love-filled day.

For some, though, Thanksgiving is filled with more stress than stuffing that can fit in a turkey.

English teacher Christy May found herself feeling stressed instead of blessed on a Thanksgiving morning 15 years ago.

“I bought a turkey fryer because my husband said he wanted to fry a Thanksgiving turkey, and me not thinking about it, put (the fryer) on the porch,” May said. “I caught my porch on fire.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association, firefighters responded to an estimated 1,760 home cooking fires on Thanksgiving. The U.S. Fire Administration has reported that in the years of 2011 to 2013, an estimated 2,100 residential building fires were reported. In total, these statistics translate to 10 deaths and 50 injuries. Check out a YouTube video from the NFPA here.

So while May’s story falls onto the long list of fires during the Thanksgiving season, luckily, the only damage caused by the turkey frier was to her porch.

”Fortunately, because I don’t trust myself frying, I had a water hose, so the damage was minimal,” May said.

May is not the only one who has looked back on a Thanksgiving with less than fond memories. Sophomore Simone Midgett recalls her eighth grade Thanksgiving as being the funniest, for all of the wrong reasons.

“We always eat Thanksgiving dinner at my great-grandma’s house in Hatteras. This one Thanksgiving, four of my family members couldn’t make it because the bridge was closed. So they ended up going out to eat at Plaza Azteca, because that was the only place open,” Midgett said.

Although Midgett could not spend that Thanksgiving with some of her family members, she still looks back on it with a laugh.

“It was funny because of course that would happen on Thanksgiving,” Midgett said.

Though these stories may seem like they would cause the narrators to have a less-than-perfect Thanksgiving celebration, they managed to transform their mishaps into memories.

“We ended up eating the rest of the food, including the turkey,” May said with a smile. “The turkey did spatter out, but we did end up eating it.”

May can look back and laugh now, especially since there’s a side benefit that comes with starting a turkey fire.

“I’m not really trusted with the bird – the bird is not my job any more,” May said.

Sophomore Gray Tillett can be reached at tillettgr1214@daretolearn.org.