Thanksgiving brings recall of adventures with Dan

When the family has turkey for dinner this Thanksgiving, you may think about that bird a little different after this.
A son inherited a turkey chick one year and it was so small when he got it that it would ride on his shoulder as he drove around town.
It was only a matter of time before that was no longer possible. “Dan” got to be a very large, healthy male turkey and spoiled besides.
He ate all the bugs in two backyards and left an equal amount of fertilizer in both places as well. He tolerated the dogs and they, in return, went out of their way to stay away from him.
We have radio speakers on the patio and on Saturdays, we tuned in to any radio station playing Cajun music. All went well until Dan heard the accordion, then he fluffed up to three times his size and paraded around the patio, huffing and puffing like a freight train, until he was short-winded. There were times we actually had to turn the radio off before he passed out.
Dan lived for quite a few years and with old age came arthritis, turkey style. Our back yards looked like they had been bombed, with all the pot holes that had been dug, so that when he went to squat down to rest, his weight didn’t crush his legs.
When he finally went to the great baking pan in the sky, we finally realized what a treat it had been to have him around.
I still can’t look at all those freezers full of turkeys in the stores and not get a touch of nostalgia. Hey, it’s whatever rows your boat. OR, lives in your back yard.
Be thankful!

Georgie Manuel.
November 16, 2014.