Nicko started a thread titled, "How are you preparing your turkey this year?" Yes, I contributed to the thread. But to my shame I avoided the heart of the matter, only mumbling something like "smoking."

The non-answer haunted me. For one thing, my relationship with you is founded on honesty. For another, it's too important to keep dancing around it -- no matter how much we'd all prefer to keep silent about an unpleasant matter.

With maturity comes...