Rest in Peace Thanksgiving Day Turkey

I approached Thanksgiving with some hesitation this year.  Why you might ask? Well ... I've acquired this odd fascination for Wild Turkeys.  They intrigued me and entertained my soul.  I'm not exactly sure why.  All I know is that it lifted my spirits, the days I would encounter these creatures either at my daughter's school yard or while driving down Crocker Road extension on my way to pick-up my son at preschool.  I would quietly speak under my breathe, run away you silly Turkeys before Thanksgiving time approaches!  I think they listened to me, as I haven't seen the Wild Turkeys for a couple of weeks.  Then again, they might have fallen victim to the "turkey hunter" and landed themselves on someone's plate. Oh my - what a horrible thought!

I tried to put the images of the Wild Turkeys out of my mind as Thanksgiving Day approached.  I didn't want the guilt to turn me into a vegan after 43 years of eating Turkey on Thanksgiving Day.  I can tell you it was so hard.

Then I walked into my parent's house yesterday afternoon and got the whiff of the Turkey baking/basting in their oven and it smelled "OH SO YUMMY".  I had mixed feelings but the aroma overtook any sense of guilt I may have had.

I looked at the Turkey in the oven and you would have thought someone was trying to save its life with life support equipment as there were all these probes stuck in it's baking body and cords hanging out of the oven attached to devices outside the oven.  What I thought was a heart monitor was only just thermometers, gauging the Turkey's internal temperature to make sure it was cooked to the right balance between done and moist.  I had to accept the fact that the Turkey had died several days earlier and there was nothing I could do about it but enjoy every single perfectly cooked piece of turkey, as that was this particular Turkey's fate!  To be my dinner on Thanksgiving.

Rest in Peace Dear Thanksgiving Day Turkey.  You did not die for naught.  You were perfect!