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Scott Macaulay isn’t into selfpromotion. He’s never sought out media coverage. In fact， he likes it that most of the people he feeds each Thanksgiving don’t know his name.

On Thursday， for the 28th time， the Massachusetts man is preparing a full turkey dinner for a whole bunch of people he’s never met. His 70 or so guests ― elderly people， cancer patients， 1）AA members， low-income people， atrisk teens， recently divorced people， widowed people and others ― have one detail in common： Without Macaulay， they’d be alone on Thanksgiving.

“Eh， what I do isn’t a big deal， really，” the self-effacing 52-year-old told . “I put some birds in the oven， boil some mashed potatoes.

“I mean， c’mon. I’m a dumb 2）dodo bird who fixes vacuum cleaners for a living. I’ve got nothing to offer except time， and some birds I can get for 69 cents a pound. I just don’t want people to be stuck at home feeling rotten.”

Macaulay’s unconventional Thanksgiving tradition began in 1985， right around the time his parents decided to get divorced. The holidays got messy that year， and Macaulay， who was 24 at the time， sensed he’d be spending Thanksgiving alone.

It was a terrible feeling.

“The thought of eating a TV dinner by myself， or even cooking a Thanksgiving meal for one person ― no thank you，” he recalled.“Thanksgiving isn’t about fireworks or band concerts or 3）hoopla. It’s a celebration around a table with food. It’s not fun to do that by yourself.”

Macaulay placed an ad in his local paper， the Melrose Free Press， with a simple message： If people thought they might be alone on Thanksgiving， they could give Macaulay a call. Come hang out. Come eat.

A few people showed up at Macaulay’s place that first year. It was nice. So he placed another ad the following year， and the year after that.

The event kept growing to accommodate more people： Blind people with guide dogs， newcomers to the country who didn’t speak much English， police officers and 4）EMTs who had to work on Thanksgiving， nursing-home residents eager for a change of scenery.

“Every year there’s somebody who helps me keep doing it，” Macaulay said. “One year a woman came up to me and told me she had cancer and she was supposed to die. She had just finished her chemo and was getting her hair back. She told me， ‘I actually have an appetite and I’m feeling very thankful to be alive， so I wanted to come to your dinner.’”

In 2008， a woman with Parkinson’s disease paid to have an ambulance take her from her nursing home to the dinner. It was the woman’s first outing in seven years. When she had to leave， she cried.

“She came from Watertown （Mass.）， which is nowhere near here，”Macaulay said. “She just heard about the dinner and had to come.”

The dinner really started hopping in 2010， after someone at 5）National Public Radio spotted Macaulay’s ad and called him about it. The phone call led to a segment in NPR’s StoryCorps series， resulting in a peak attendance of 89 people at that year’s event.

In recent years， Macaulay has been hosting his Thanksgiving dinners at local churches with lots of space. He still buys and prepares all the food himself， but these days he serves everything in 6）chafing dishes and 7）meticulously records the temperatures of different foods.

It’s worried him that the change of venue and the new procedures might make the meal seem less homey. To 8）compensate， he decorates the church hall to look like a living room， complete with rugs， lamps， soft chairs， a fake fireplace， a wood stove and candles.

“He makes sure people aren’t sitting at long tables in a big hall，” said the Rev. Damaris Cami-Staples， pastor at First Baptist Church of Melrose， Mass.， where Macaulay held the dinner last year. “All the tables have place settings and look beautiful， and the ambiance is so nice.”

What’s more， this isn’t an eat-andrun affair： People can make themselves comfortable， relax and talk for hours. Starting at 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving， guests can start enjoying cheese， crackers， chips， dip and other snacks. The full meal includes turkey， dressing， sweet potatoes， mashed potatoes， gravy， cranberry sauce and vegetables， and the dessert list is extensive.

Macaulay pays for all the food himself and spends about 40 hours putting the whole affair together. On Thanksgiving Day， he runs nonstop from about 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. He said it’s important to him that he not seek out volunteers or monetary donations because“that’s not what this is about.”

“He does things in the background ― he doesn’t like the glory，” Cami-Staples said. “He does this because he knows how much it hurts to be alone on Thanksgiving， and he knows that people need more than just the food. They need to be together with others who care about how they’re doing.”

Macaulay said he’d love to see other people hold similar dinners all over the country.

“I think someone in every town should do this，” he said， “so nobody has to be alone.”

斯科特・麦考利不爱自吹自擂。他从未争取媒体报道。事实上，他宁愿大部分享用过他做的感恩节大餐的人不知道他的名字。

星期四，是第28次，这名马萨诸塞州男子在为一大群素未谋面的人准备一顿丰盛的火鸡大餐。他那约七十名的客人――老年人、癌症患者、戒酒互助会的成员、低收入人士、边缘青少年、新近离婚者、丧偶人士以及其他的人――都有一个共同点：没有麦考利的话，他们都要独自度过感恩节。

“呃，其实我做的没什么大不了的，真的，”年届五十二、为人谦逊的麦考利对今日网如是说，“我只不过是把一些火鸡肉放到烤箱里烤熟，再煮了些土豆泥而已。

“我的意思是，拜托。我只是靠修理真空吸尘器为生的笨人一名。除了时间，以及一些以69美分一磅的价格买来的火鸡肉，我并没有其他什么可付出的。我只是不想大家独守家中空虚难过而已。”

麦考利这种突破常规的感恩节传统始于1985年，正值他父母决定离婚之际。那年的节日都过得很糟糕，而麦考利，当时24岁，感觉到自己将要孤独地度过感恩节。

那种感觉非常糟糕。

“当时想到要么自己吃顿冷冻快餐，要么为自己一个人做顿感恩节大餐――没有感恩，”他回想着。“感恩节不是什么有关烟花表演、乐队音乐会或者投环套物游戏的节日。这应该是一场围着满桌食物的庆祝会。自己一个人过感恩节是毫无乐趣的。”

麦考利在当地的《梅尔罗斯自由新闻报》上刊登了一则小广告，附上简单的信息：如果有人觉得在感恩节那天自己或许会一个人过的话，可以致电麦考利。一起过节。来吃饭。

第一年有几个人出现在麦考利的住所。感觉不错。于是他在第二年又投放了一则广告，之后那年亦如是。

参与的人越来越多，这个活动规模不断壮大：带着导盲犬的盲人、不太会说英语的新移民、感恩节当值的警察和急诊医务员、迫切想换个环境过节的养老院老人。

“每年都有人帮我继续进行这个活动，”麦考利说，“有一年，有一名女子来找我，跟我说她患了癌症，原本快要死了。她刚完成了她的化疗，头发刚长回来。她跟我说：‘我其实胃口不错，能活着，我很感激，所以我想来参加你的晚宴。’”

在2008年，有一名患有帕金森症的女子雇了辆救护车把她从疗养院送出来参加这场晚宴。那是这名女士七年来首次外出。当要离开时，她哭了。

“她来自（马萨诸塞州）沃特敦城，离这儿一点也不近，”麦考利说道，“一听说有这么个晚宴活动，她就坚持要来。”

该晚宴活动在2010年得到实质性的飞跃发展，当时有个美国公共广播电台的人恰好看到麦考利的广告并致电他了解情况。这通电话造就了美国公共广播电台“故事团”系列节目里的一段故事，结果使得那年的参加人数达到了历史高峰――89人之多。

近年来，麦考利已把感恩节大餐举办地点挪到了空间更开阔的当地教堂。他仍然亲力亲为，自己购买和烹饪全部食物，但这些日子里他用保温锅来料理所有食物，并一丝不苟地记录好不同菜式的温度。

聚餐地点和烹饪方式的改变，让他感到有点担心，怕这样会丢失一些家的味道。为了对此予以补偿，他把教堂大堂装点得如同家里的客厅，添置了地毯、落地灯、软垫扶手椅、假壁炉、柴火灶和蜡烛。

“他确保人们不是坐在大厅的长桌子边，”雷夫・达默里斯・卡米―斯特普尔斯如是说，他是马萨诸塞州梅尔罗斯第一浸信会教堂的牧师，麦考利去年就在这个教堂举办了晚宴。“全部桌子都布置了成套餐位餐具，看上去很漂亮，而且周围的氛围也相当温馨宜人。”

不仅如此，这并不是一场吃完就散的晚宴活动：人们可以让自己彻底放松，自在地聊上几个小时。从感恩节的下午1点开始，客人们便可以开始享用奶酪、饼干、薯条、蘸料和其他小吃。全餐包括了火鸡、配菜、番薯、土豆泥、肉汤、小红莓果酱和蔬菜，还有品种丰富的点心。

麦考利独力支付所有食物的费用，并为整个活动投入近40个小时。在感恩节那天，他会马不停蹄地从早上5点开始忙活到晚上8点。他说不寻求志愿者帮忙或捐款这一点对他来说很重要，因为“那不是这活动的意义所在”。

“他都是在幕后做事――他不喜欢荣耀，”卡米―斯特普尔斯说道，“他这么做是因为他知道独自过感恩节是多么令人难过，而且他知道人们需要的不只是食物。他们需要与他人在一起，需要他人的关怀。”

麦考利说他很乐意见到其他人在全国其他地方举行类似的晚宴活动。

“我想每个城镇都该有一个人做这样的事，”他说道，“那样就没有人会孤单了。”