When cancer and COVID conspired to steal Thanksgiving joy from his family, Travis Goodson and his friend, Rob Michie, cooked up a plan to save the day — and bring comfort to others! Here, they share their story with Woman’s World.
What if it’s his last Thanksgiving and we don’t get to spend it with him?” Travis Goodson fretted to his wife, Caitlin, as his father, Charles, lay in a hospital bed in Albany, New York, battling Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
It was November 2020, and because of the COVID-19 lockdown, even visiting his dad in the hospital was impossible, much less sharing Thanksgiving dinner.
Travis knew his mom wouldn’t want to cook for herself, but then he had an idea. “We could fix her a nice dinner, and even if they don’t let her visit Dad, they can at least try to pass him a plate.”
Travis mentioned his plan to his best friend, Rob Michie, who owns a local charcuterie. “Could you possibly smoke a turkey for my dad?”
“I’ll cook two — one for your dad and another for your own Thanksgiving,” Rob generously offered, but the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if two would even be enough.
“There are a lot of other patients in the cancer ward who are also going to miss a big family dinner,” Rob told his wife, Melissa. “Let’s buy some extra turkeys and cook up some sides to go with them.”
Filling bellies—and hearts—with smoked turkeys and sides
Together, Rob and Travis wound up buying 89 turkeys. The restaurant was closed for Thanksgiving week, but the kitchen was abuzz with activity as the two men and their wives smoked turkeys and prepped delicious sides — like stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies and pies.
A local organization that supports cancer patients reached out to families, and on Thanksgiving Eve, the group boxed and delivered juicy turkeys and generous sides to families in dire need of holiday cheer.
Some family members did end up being allowed to visit their loved ones, and others sent in heaping plates.
“They let my sister out of the hospital for the weekend,” one grateful woman told the group. “We didn’t know until the last minute, so we weren’t even going to cook a dinner. But they gave us a beautiful feast, and it was a real celebration.”
Travis’s dad also got a last-minute reprieve to spend Thanksgiving at home, but he had to limit his exposure to other people. So he and Travis’s mom said grace over an Operation Turkey meal together, while across town, Travis and Rob’s families joined up to enjoy their own well-deserved feast.
“We absolutely celebrated together; we were just in different places,” Travis says.
Travis Goodson and Rob Michie
Spreading Thanksgiving kindness
For the two couples, sharing Thanksgiving has become an annual tradition. Every November, they prepare nearly 100 yummy smoked turkeys and plenty of batches of sides and desserts. They’ve also expanded their outreach to include an area domestic abuse shelter and an orphanage in their community.
“Anyone who needs a dinner, we’re going to get one to them,” says Rob. Like the family who lost everything in a house fire the week before last Thanksgiving. “They were so grateful,” says Travis.
This year, the kitchen at Cork’s Wine and Charcuterie will be busier than ever, with borrowed smokers, volunteer chefs and delivery drivers — including Travis’ dad, who beat his cancer and loves helping out and making deliveries. “It’s a true blessing that my cancer led to something like this,” he says. “It just goes to show that it’s possible to turn any tragedy into an opportunity.” Travis, Rob, Melissa and Caitlin agree, insisting, “It’s an opportunity we’ll continue to cherish for many years to come.”
