Louis Alfred
Age 38
Resides Newark, New Jersey
Occupation Recording engineer
What was the worst Thanksgiving you ever had? Whichever Thanksgivings I couldn't see my family. You just try to get through the day and not feel like too much of a loser.
What was the best? In '74 or '75 we were all together in New Orleans. My grandmother was still alive. It was the stereotype of what Thanksgiving should be. We were young and nobody hated each other.
Who's on your ideal Thanksgiving guest list? I'd like to eat at George Foreman's house. He has six boys so you know there would be enough food. Samuel L. Jackson would come and we'd have invited Angela Basset because she's classy and beautiful. We'd arrange to have her husband on a movie set. My motives are purely personal.
Jamie
Age 24
Resides Brooklyn
Occupation Makeup artist
What was the worst Thanksgiving you ever had? One year I had Thanksgiving with a friend's family in Virginia. I had never had a lot of alcohol in my life, and they were big drinkers. They'd killed their own turkey, and at dinner served wine with every course. At the end they put sherry in shot glasses, and because I thought we were doing shooters, I drank the whole thing in one gulp. Everything came up and out on the table. They all laughed. I was mortified.
What was the best? The last three with my boyfriend have been great. We're vegetarians so we get fake turkey and his mother makes glazed carrots.
Who's on your ideal Thanksgiving guest list? Hillary Clinton. I love her.
Rafael Pichardo
Age 21
Resides Brooklyn
Occupation Architectural woodworker
What was the worst Thanksgiving you ever had? One Thanksgiving, my uncle came over with my cousins and we, the kids, got stoned in the backyard. My mother smelled it and called my uncle. We denied it, of course, but there was an altercation.
What was the best? I once had three Thanksgiving dinners at three different homes. I drank all day, stuffed myself, and then went home and had great sex with my girlfriend.
Who's on your ideal Thanksgiving guest list? It would definitely be a female. The model in the Victoria's Secret catalog with the largest breasts.
Thalia Mancheno
Age 22
Resides West New York, New Jersey
Occupation Student
What was the worst Thanksgiving you ever had? I've never had a bad Thanksgiving.
What was the best? One year we went to South America to meet my father's family. We cooked the traditional meal, and even managed to find sweet potatoes. It made me feel very grateful, because I realized how much we have here. Anyone who sees an American grocery store for the first time says, "Look at all that food!"
Who's on your ideal Thanksgiving guest list? The Simpsons.
Linda Chan
Age 19
Resides Manhattan
Occupation Student
What was the worst Thanksgiving you ever had? Once we were driving into the city and we saw a car crash—it was my uncle. Even though everyone was out of the hospital in time for dinner, it was still a very shocking sight.
What was the best? Last year's—my first at home after having gone away to school. Our family's Thanksgiving meal is entirely Asian. Fishball soup is my favorite thing on the menu.
Who's on your ideal Thanksgiving guest list? I'd like to take my parents to Chris Rock's house. It would really bug them out.
Francis
Age 20
Resides Manhattan
Occupation Messenger
What was the worst Thanksgiving you ever had? In 1996, I was hospitalized and homeless. On Thanksgiving, I had nowhere to go, so I had to stay in the hospital. I don't know where the turkey they gave us came from. It was all chopped up. I've gotten myself together since then.
What was the best? Last year we had a big dinner, with a huge turkey and all the fixings.
Who's on your ideal Thanksgiving guest list? Bill Clinton. We'd watch the football game and I'd take pictures of the two of us together.
Eugene Aizenman
Age 20
Resides Manhattan
Occupation Student
What was the worst Thanksgiving you ever had? I've only had three Thanksgivings, because I'm from Russia. Last year I was in a dorm that usually houses 1500 people. On Thanksgiving there were only 20 people left. It was horrible.
What was the best? One of those three Thanksgivings that was spent with family friends in New Jersey.
Who's on your ideal Thanksgiving guest list? Bill Clinton. With the Bushes you'd get two famous people, but with Clinton you could really talk politics and really eat.
