Talking Turkey ... A Naked Turkey?

Photo by klohka on iStock

It’s that time of year again when we’re re-running this “little slice” of family history because some traditions never get old — and always make us laugh. Not to mention, neither of us can ever look at a perfectly browned turkey and not imagine it being naked!

We first ran this in 2020, but as soon as Black wrote it, it became one of Red's favorite posts and a perfect way to wish you a very Happy Turkey Day … one filled with gratitude, laughter, and memories worth retelling.

Today is Thanksgiving, and I cannot help but wonder why we are online. However, everyone has their own way of celebrating. I know that Red is in the kitchen cooking – and watching a marathon of "The Godfather" movies. Which is perfect as turkeys take such a long time to cook and patience is important when you want it perfectly browned. So inviting, so appetizing, so … naked?

Growing up, our house used to be where everyone congregated for the holidays. Not because my mother was a good cook, or even liked to entertain, but because my parents bought a house on Long Island while the rest of her family continued to live in apartments in Brooklyn and the Bronx. In other words, they had the most room.

Thanksgiving was always a house full of people and everyone always gathered in the kitchen, which made food preparation a challenge. Especially as everyone loved to nibble on ingredients during the process. For the most part, Mom was a good sport about it. But, the closer we got to the turkey being ready, the more food she would move into the dining room, hoping we would follow the food.

I remember one year when the turkey cooling on the counter looked like something from a magazine – it was perfectly browned. Normally, it was splotchy, although you never knew it once my father was done carving it. (Although an engineer, he had dreamed of being a surgeon and every year as I watched him carve the turkey, I would think he missed his true calling.) Anyway, my mother was so proud of this perfectly browned turkey that she would not let anyone near it, and was delaying the inevitable carving.

However, she made the mistake of taking the balance of the side dishes into the dining room and my father must have been helping as my cousin and I snuck back into the kitchen. In a matter of seconds, we had stripped that turkey naked. Enjoying the crispy skin (ok, this was well before the days we were told it was "bad" for you) and laughing until my parents returned to see what was causing the commotion.

Mom was less than pleased, while Daddy tried to hide his amusement. My cousin ran to the safety of his parents, while I stood there defiantly asking if could have a wing. To this day, I cannot see a perfectly browned turkey without remembering that Thanksgiving. And, I venture to guess it has become a favorite memory of my Mom's, as well.

So today, at the risk of being warm and fuzzy (which is Red's area of responsibility),

I want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving … filled with memories that will last a lifetime.

True

Red & Black … Do Red, White & Blue

How we celebrate July 4th may change from year to year, but what should never change is remembering WHY we celebrate. And 250 years feels like the perfect time to reflect not just on traditions, but on the sacrifices made to build — and preserve — the freedoms we often take for granted.

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July 4this so different these days with neither girl at home. Natasha always hated the fireworks, while Sawyer would insist we do all the traditional things – barbecuing, eating lots of watermelon, and then watching fireworks in the Texas heat and humidity. But this year, I plan to make it a very “cool” holiday … staying in the air-conditioned house, enjoying “Gone With The Wind” (this summer’s long read), and celebrating my own independence from any “mom” responsibilities with a big bucket of freshly popped popcorn!

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Well, everyone celebrates differently. I celebrate by being able to work uninterrupted. But, I do think about what it took for our Founding Fathers to draft the Declaration of Independence, especially as they did not always agree. The right to disagree, yet respect our differences and find common ground, remains one of our country’s greatest challenges today. Some things never change.

We want to wish everyone a safe and festive Fourth of July, but we also hope that we all take a moment to celebrate — and honor — the United States of America, and remember the best in us, as a people, and as a country.

We’ve Always Been Animated

OK, we have to give credit where credit is due … When Black first envisioned “Red & Black” (before she even let Red know that she was turning her crisis into a book — a brand — a business), she thought it could be a sitcom. Because all successful sitcoms are relationship-based. However, years later, at a meeting with Hasbro, they said they thought our sitcom concept would work better as animation. So, thank you, Hasbro!

ANIMATION … MADE THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY: FRAME-BY-FRAME

We worked with an industry-renowned animation firm based in Austin, and from the start — beginning with character development — we felt like they “got us” and captured our personalities in our animated “creatures.” But we never realized the incredible amount of work that goes into creating animation (including storyboards and animatics)! And the long lead time between concept/script and final product.

Plus, we decided that the voices of the “animated” Red and Black needed to be done by us. We wish we had videoed the sessions in the sound booth as Red’s theater degree kicked in and she got almost everything in the first take. And Black? Well, she sounded more like a robot than a robot. (Talk about someone who can’t be scripted!)

AND USED IN A WAY THAT WORKS TODAY

We started with the key stories that people seem to love (or at least seem entertained by) at speaking engagements. But even before they were done, we were presented with an opportunity we never expected. The Greater Houston Partnership’s UpSkill Houston initiative asked us to create a Red & Black Soft Skills Animation Series.

It wasn’t long before Red's daughter, Sawyer, told us we needed to do some very short animated "teasers" … so Black said, "Great. Go for it. And, keep track of your hours.” She took the final versions of our animation and started creating teasers for our website.

In late 2025, we hired a social media “guru”, and she started creating content using the animation for our Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages. Which, we’re thrilled to announce, have far exceeded our expectations.

WHAT ABOUT AI? DO YOU PLAN TO USE IT TO GENERATE ANIMATIONS?

This question seems to be on many people’s minds.

Short answer: No.

Longer answer: We’re committed to supporting the real-world creative community. Does that mean we’ll never use AI to generate animations? (For an amusing story on how wrong AI got our “creatures”, see this LinkedIn post that got over 15,000 views.) Well, at the point in time we can provide AI with “scripts”, and it can generate new animation that’s consistent with our current animation, then yes. Or, at least, yes, we might seriously consider it.

WANT MORE ANIMATION?

Click ANIMATION for an assortment of “teasers” from our longer stories, while more, including ones from our social media posts, will be loaded on a regular basis. And, of course, they’ll be scattered throughout this site based on subject matter.

Plus, we’ll probably “sneak preview” the full animated stories on our weekly newsletter, so …

Register for our newsletter on the “sticky bar” at the bottom of the page.

P.S. – For those of you who've met us or seen us at speaking engagements, we'd love to know if you think the animators have accurately captured us! (You can email us at Banter@RedandBlack.email.)

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