On Thanksgiving, not a lot of newsworthy stuff happens. But it's the biggest newspaper of the year, so you gotta get out there and fill that news hole, as they say. My assignment was Gobbler Gauge. They made me go to all the local supermarkets and butcher shops and uncover the facts on the lowest-priced turkey in town. As if I'd ever purchased a turkey, much less cooked one.

The editors at the paper knew I was fairly handy with the computer — as long as my graphics were constrained to two dimensions — so they had me draw something in color for the front page to go along with my story. "Draw anything," they said. "Just make sure it's two columns across." Okay, I said. I gave them this beauty — a self-portrait of me in the unlikely role of Thanksgiving day chef.