So, what's one to do for Thanksgiving, if they're single, don't have a local family or hate to cook?

Well, I'll tell you what I did. I headed down to the Mark Restaurant in Burien.

On the 23rd, I was perusing my emails and came across the word "FREE" in the Subject line. Well, that's enough to stop me dead in my tracks, right there!

The e-mail suggested that I could come to the Mark Restaurant between 2 and 6 p.m. and join others in the community for free turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables and even pumpkin pie!

All they asked is that I bring a side dish. "Hmmm," I thought, "Why not?"

I wasn't sure what to expect, because "free" usually does not mean "FREE", if you know what I mean. I suppose I adopted a jaded eye from reading the small print or finding the asterisked line, too late.

Okay, so I was wr-r-r-r-r...I was not correct in my jadedness.

Before I could get three steps into the door, Nathan Miller, the nephew of one of the owners, greeted me with a big smile and ushered me to the feast. There was indeed everything that was promised, as well as an abundance of delicious side dishes brought in by the folks from the community.

Ah, but was the dressing going to be as good as Mom's? That is always my main concern, as Thanksgiving has no material meaning, without a sizable portion of dressing - smothered in giblet gravy.

After getting seated and lighting the turkey candle, which I brought along for atmosphere, we headed over to load up our plates. And no one to slap my hand for taking an extra ladle of gravy, either!

The food was fabulous, which I've come to expect from the Mark, but more importantly, it was nice to see so many strangers who were willing to sit down at a table and be neighborly.

Times are tough, for many, and the economy and rough weather wasn't helping things, so it was music to hear the laughter and chit-chat filling the rooms.

There were only three people pattering about, bussing tables, cooking, refilling the food bins and making sure the coffee was always hot. Most of us served ourselves, but the staff was always willing to serve those who asked.

What I didn't know, but found out later, was that Debra George, one of the owners, was in the back cooking. Chris Mark, the other owner, was the gal out bussing tables. Now, let's face it, no matter how nice the owner of a business may be, they're usually the ones at home, while they pay their employees to work on holidays.

So, I had to know what was behind this whole event. I talked with Chris to get the skinny. "I always wanted a big family and didn't have one. Plus, it just seemed that the economy was depressing people, so we started this Thanksgiving Dinner. Last year, we had about 125 people who came," she said.

Well, it must be working, because I was told that they more than doubled the amount of people who came -- to 250. And I can say, from being there, that all of the people were feeling thankful for the Mark's generous giving and had a wonderful time.

A side note: Yes, the stuffing was as good as my mother's.