Every family has its own Thanksgiving traditions.

This was my Uncle Mike's: every holiday, in the living room at my grandmother's house, he would plop down in a recliner in the corner, open a book, and proceed to shut out the room and all its other inhabitants entirely. Football blaring out of the TV, dishes clanging, conversation ascending in volume with each successive glass of wine or whiskey — didn't matter. There was Uncle Mike, reliable as an hourglass, chewing through some paperback crime novel at a canter. Occasionally, he'd step outside to take a phone call. He was a lawyer; lawyers are always working. His discipline — as both a reader and a career man — made an impression on me.

Years later, my parents told me the real cause of his sojourns to the patio: he kept a one-hitter in his pocket, and he was stepping out to sample a couple puffs of cannabis from it. Smoke, read, smoke, repeat. Suddenly, his ability to disappear completely in the face of utter familial chaos made more sense.

My Uncle Mike passed away this year. It had been years since we'd had one of those Thanksgivings or Christmases. One of the last times I saw him, two and a half years ago, we passed a pipe around his living room in Boulder before going to his favorite steakhouse for dinner. That was the night he told us he had ALS.

This year, when I retreat to a magazine or a book or my phone for a few minutes of respite from all the hubbub, I'll think of Uncle Mike, patron saint of tuning out.

Should you need a few minutes away today, we'll be here for you. Below, you'll find a collection of some of my favorite Thanksgiving stories that our staff has published in recent years.

I am thankful for their hard work, and the fact that they were still filing copy at twilight yesterday. And as ever, I'm grateful for your continued readership.

I hope you get to spend the day with people you love, and a big fat steaming bird on the table.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Walker Loetscher
Editor in Chief, InsideHook