Thanksgiving thoughts and stuff

Nyam nyam!

For some reason, there's only one time of the year that we decide to cook turkeys.  I can't remember the last time I had a cooked turkey for dinner - oh wait.  Thanksgiving.  And what ho!  I'm writing on Thanksgiving!  What are the odds, readers, tell me, what are the odds.

You may throughout the course of the day find yourself positioned behind a glorious feast of beans, potatoes, pies, and if you're Charlie Brown, then popcorn, jellybeans, pretzels and toast.  But before your family dives over the table, knocking over the ornaments and breaking plates to get their ravenous hands on that succulent turkey-dish, let's sit back and think a little.  Have you thought about the character of this dear, dear animal from whom your lips and teeth are viciously tearing slobbery chunks of meat?

Think about it, friends.  Here's some fun facts you can one-up everyone with at your next Thanksgiving party.

• Turkey is just its street name.  Meleagris gallopavo is its actual name, but don't expect anyone to know that.
• Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey to be the national bird.  He wrote in a letter "though [he is] a little vain & silly, [he too is] a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on."  Riddle me this Benny Franks, ever see an eagle vs. turkey in a fight?  Thought so.
• Wild turkeys can run up to 25 mph.  The fastest men alive can at their peak run 25-27 mph.  If you see a turkey run off with a woman's purse, odds are you would be better not even trying.
• A turkey's gobble can be heard up to a mile away.  Meh.
• The country and Turkey and the bird turkey are two very different things (a shout out for my foreign mystery readers).

Take just a moment, breath in some clean air and let your mind be grateful for this bird of ours that has a little more character than a mouth occupant.