Morning Carcass

November 4, 2006

As I stepped through the back door of my house to greet this morning's bright November sun, I turned slightly to the right to face my neighbor's fence. I was stunned to see what appeared to be a dead turkey lying on top of a row of garbage cans. Just the night before, I ran into my neighbor on his way into his back door in full hunting regalia, a gun case slung over his shoulder. I wondered why he did not take his always skittish, always barking and always alone English Setter who is relegated to his small backyard for the majority of most days, but that was hardly the point. Small talk led to his wife exclaiming, with a mixture of an expression of glee and the delivery of a command, "No turkey, no Thanksgiving!" I tried to think up a quick and witty Tofurkey or Giant Eagle joke but was left staring into their blinding motion light with my new Chocolate Lab by my side. My neighbor spent the morning defeathering and "cleaning" his kill, explaining to me while I was out later playing with my dog, that wild turkeys, because they are tough, are best used for soup. And yep, I live in a city.