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Sunday, November 16, 2008

The Biggest Turkey Tale

The folks over at Happy to be @ Home are having a contest. I had a story but I didn’t want to enter it in the contest because it isn’t actually mine. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t even alive when it happened. However, it is one that I make my Dad tell every Thanksgiving because it is very funny when he tells it. I’m sure I won’t be able to convey it well via the written word, but I’ll try.

Anyway, when my Dad was a teenager and still living at home, he lived down the road from a guy that had some pet turkeys. The man loved his turkeys and treated them just like we would our own pets. So…my Dad (compassionate, loving teen that he was) decided that he would get a live turkey for his family. As his Mom and Dad were discussing the upcoming Thanksgiving meal, my Dad told his family not to worry about the big bird; he was planning on getting a live turkey for them. His Dad asked him how in the world he was going to do that. My Dad kind of shrugged his shoulders and said that he had a plan.

The eve of Thanksgiving rolled around and my Dad got into his yellow Volkswagon Beetle with (what he considered) the necessary equipment. Keep in mind that they did not live in an area where they could just grab a gun and shoot a wild turkey. Anyhow, my Dad picked up a buddy of his (who also had the ‘necessary equipment’ )and they were off.

I’m sure you can imagine where this is going…my Dad and his buddy went to the neighbor’s home and eyed up the pet turkeys. They climbed over the fence with their gear in hand. Now the turkeys are getting a few ruffled feathers at the site of two strangers approaching them with…

hockey sticks.

Yes, that was their equipment of choice…hockey sticks. Needless to say, they successfully whacked a bird upon the head with a stick and quickly jumped back over the fence and crammed everything back into the Beetle.

The dinner conversation that evening was lively and memorable…so I’m told. Grandpa decided it was the perfect time to mention the neighbor’s troubling tale of his missing pet turkey. He also decided it was the perfect time to inquire about the mysterious acquisition of this year’s live turkey dinner. Especially since the bird weighed in at about 53 pounds!

I don’t know how the rest of the story goes from there…I do know that my Dad had to apologize for snagging that bird. I still can’t believe he used a hockey stick…that’s the part I find most amusing. It’s almost as funny as the time my Dad and his brother set the marsh on fire…but that’s a story for some other time. He tells them the best.

1 comment:

The Happy Housewife said...

I loved this story! You should have entered anyway! It cracked me up! Thanks for the granola tip, I do have that cookbook but didn't think to look for granola in it!
Thanks!
Toni