Michael Dukakis Wants You To Send Him Your Thanksgiving Turkey Carcasses. No, Really.

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If you’ve been wondering what former 1988 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis has been doing lately, the answer is methodically storing turkey carcasses in his freezer like a serial killer. In a magical interview with the Boston Globe last week that is now one of my all-time favorite interviews, the 82-year-old former Governor of Massachusetts calls throwing away a turkey carcass “absolutely sinful,” and explains how every year he acquires at least seven or eight carcasses from family or friends, which he stores in his freezer to make soup out of throughout the year.

Dukakis details his method for making turkey soup, which is to pour enough water into a pot to cover the turkey, add an onion, then simmer for at least three hours. When the soup is good and ready, he likes to add assorted vegetables, with a preference for peas and carrots. (Aside from turkey carcasses, Dukakis and his wife will also frequent Costco for their $4.95 rotisserie chicken specials, saying, “Kitty and I must get 10 meals out of them.”)

After making each batch, he stores half of it in the refrigerator and half in the freezer, removing it for a lunch or a dinner meal. “A turkey carcass,” he notes, “will yield a lot of soup.”

“If you freeze these things they’re good for months,” he says. “Just take them out when you have a hankering, let it thaw out and have some soup. Lunches, dinners, everything.”

Dukakis is so Gung-ho about his turkey carcasses that he wants to send out a PSA against throwing them out. In fact, he is even soliciting readers to give him their own unwanted turkey carcasses, which he will happily accept.

“I’m collecting if you know anybody. People throw this thing out — it’s crazy!”

“Tell your readers under no circumstances should they do that,” he adds. “They should use the carcass. And if they don’t want to, tell them to come to 85 Perry Street in Brookline. We’ll make full use of it, believe me.”

Just a former United States Governor giving out his home address to solicit turkey carcasses, nothing weird about that. In fact, I happen to know of a guy who Dukakis might get along with very well.

(Reddit via Boston Globe)

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