A Fowl Affair?!
I grew up with seven siblings. My dad was a butcher and my mother, a homemaker. We lived in a small town and as we were a large Asian family, everyone seemed to know us even before we knew them.
Physically, we didn’t exactly blend in, if you get my drift.
It appeared that every “extra” animal or unwanted pet, ended up in our backyard which we gladly adopted and took great care of, much to the dismay of our dad. Although he was appreciative of what the neighbors provided, he was not one to kill the animal.
When a carcass of a sheep or cow arrived, he would carve it into steaks, roasts, and other cuts of meat.
One evening, Dad came home late. As eight pairs of eyes peered out the kitchen window, we saw that he had a gunny sack over his shoulders. Something was squirming around in that sack.
Dad came in and told us not to go outside. He warned us not to get near the sack, and he would take care of it in the morning.
He said he had a surprise for us.
As soon as the words rolled off his tongue, “surprise” and “not get near the sack,” it was like an open invitation for my brothers to investigate. They snuck outside, took a broom from the garage and poked at the sack.
The more they poked, the more the sack came alive and soon, two legs poked out and ran around the backyard. The boys quickly placed the broom back into the garage and snuck back into the house.
Meanwhile, my younger brothers and sister started to squeal with excitement.
Brother number four exclaimed, “Thanks Dad. You got us a pet!”
Mom and Dad looked at each other, then, at us. Dad announced that he had brought home a wild turkey. It was given to him by a neighbor. It’s guaranteed to be a fresh turkey.
When he saw all our long faces, he added, “It would not make a good pet as it needs to be back with its family in the woods. Besides, we don’t want to waste the turkey your mom has prepped.”
If you enjoyed this story, at the end of November, I’ll share how we prep our Asian American turkey, guaranteed not to be a “fowl” affair.
