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A Thanksgiving Story - Tommy Turkey

I happened across these gummy lumps today and thought I'd share. These are by my daughter, Alissa. I'm not sure the picture and story were done at the same time, but probably so. Hope you enjoy as much as I did!



One cool, foggy, breezy morning just as the sun was coming up Tommy arose in a cheerful mood. Tommy stood sleepily and opened his eyes. He saw all of the Thanksgiving decorations. Then he started to shout, "It's here! It's here! Thanksgiving is here! Oh my gosh what am I going to wear? Maybe I'll finally meet Uncle Herman. I'm forgetting the best part, the food. This year I'll have mashed potatoes and corn and..."

Josh the lamb interrupted, "You're not going to eat the food, you're going to be too busy being the food." Tommy had such a thundershock all of his feathers fell off right as he said that. At first he didn't believe him but when he looked through the window and saw where each food as going to go mashed potatoes, corn and turkey, Tommy knew it was true. Josh was right. He was going to have to get a plan and get out of there ASAP.

He knew he wouldn't escape with all of the watch dogs guarding the fence. Tommy decided he should use a disguise.

He took his blanket and thought what could he shape out of this. Tommy could be the Whites' daughter! Tommy knew they couldn't consume their own daughter. He pressed the buttons on the sewing machine and it started to make it CH-CH-CH! When it was done he put it on. First he slipped on the blue dress with white lace. Then he put on a blond haired wig with two blue ribbons. After that he struggled on his black shoes. They were so tight it felt like a crab pinching his feet! "If I must," he thought. He just hoped it worked.

First he was scheming in the mirror to make sure the Whites would really believe that he was their daughter. Tommy decided he better drill on what he was going to say to the Whites. Wait a minute! He didn't know what to say! He started scampering around and around until he felt something on his foot. It was the piece of paper that he had wrote of what he was going to say. He walked up to the door. Tommy was so nervous. He barged right in the house just like it was his. He could hear Mr. White's grouchy voice from the kitchen. Tommy told Mr. White that Jan her friend had invited her over and said she would like to attend. Mr. White said she didn't look so good but he finally said it was okay. "How long are you going to be gone?" "Till six," Tommy replied. But he knew he wasn't going to come back ever.

Tommy was so happy. He started to march proudly toward the forest to seek his turkey family. He decided to be wild and free just like his pa. As he was taking his journey he thought he should be more careful of who he trusted and didn't trust. On most of the trip he was daydreaming about how wonderful it was going to be spending time with his family again. Once he got there he could hear Mr. White yelling and screaming miles away. Tommy started to run around rejoicing that he wasn't going to be eaten! The other turkeys heard him and started to hide.

Alissa Harkins, 11-12-02 (Age 9)

And Then It Dawned On Me

I decided to take some time today to catch up on a few things around the house. While picking up the kitchen, I noticed an empty bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid and decided to take it to the recycle bin.



But wait. First, I'd better start a grocery list and include the Dawn on the list, lest I forget to buy more.

I went to the drawer in the kitchen where I keep pens and paper. While searching for paper, I noticed an old phone directory. Good grief, I haven't used this thing in years! All my addresses and phone numbers are either on my computer or in my cell phone now. Trash it.

Once again I began rummaging through the drawer in search of paper. Would you look at all this crap in here! I decided the drawer could use a good cleaning out, so I began taking everything out of the drawer and sorting. This goes to the garage. I need to take this to the office. Trash. This needs to go back in the drawer. More trash.

This was one of four "catch all" drawers in my kitchen. Do you have a catch all drawer? Some place where you just put things to get them out of the way when you're quickly straighening up and don't have the time to take them to the right place?

Anyway, after I straightened drawer number one, I made the mistake of opening drawer number two. Oh dear!  Then drawer number three. Then four. Sorting. Fixing. Throwing away. Putting things in their rightful place. Next thing I knew, a couple of hours had passed. The drawers look a lot better, though.  They're no longer "catch all."  They only contain the things that really belong there.  Good!

I turned around and noticed an empty bottle of Dawn dishwashing liquid. That needs to go to the recycle bin. But wait. I don't want to forget to buy more, so first I'd better start a grocery list. I'll need a pen and paper. 

And then it dawned on me.

Taking That First Step

It's hard to get started back blogging after letting it go for so long. It's very much like trying to get started back on an exercise routine after you've let yourself get all flabby and out of shape. When that happens, the best you can do is just make yourself take that first step. May, June and July went by without a blog post and I'm determined to not let August get by me as well. So here goes nothing!

I'm very sorry you haven't heard from me, but life has overwhelmed me lately. I wish I could say it's slowed down but... not so much. It continues at break neck speed.

One of the problems is figuring out where to start. So much has happened that I couldn't possibly do it justice. By the time I could find the time to tell you about all that, more stuff will have happened. So here's the abreviated synopsis. Maybe I'll find time to come back and fill in the details. But, if I don't, at least you'll get the overview. In no particular order.



Our Turn

I purchased a ten acre property in Poetry, Texas. This is the place where Mindy and I are building our future together. For now, we call it "Our Turn." Someday, we'll just call it "home." It's kept us very busy. It had a three-piece manufactured home on it that had to be moved. Then there was tree clearing, digging a pond, leveling a pad site for our future home and building a fence and a pier. And more tree clearing. And more cleaning. And... you get the idea. This place will keep us busy for years!

Up In Smoke

You may know there were a lot of wild fires in Texas earlier in the year. Well, my deer lease was among the casualties. It is located just south of Possum Kingdom Lake, an area that was hit very hard by the fires. My travel trailer and all the contents were completely burned up. Also, one of my blinds, a trail camera and some other items. My travel trailer wasn't covered by insurance, but the contents were. (Although only after a large deductible.) Recovery took quite a lot of my time. First I shopped for a new travel trailer. When I found one, it needed quite a bit of work. And, of course, there was shopping for contents and dealing with the insurance adjuster. Then taking the trailer to the lease, setting it up, etc. All this was very, very time consuming, but I'm almost back to square one with the exception of one blind.

Punta Cana

Mindy and I took a vacation to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic with my mom and my daughter. We stayed at the Iberostar Grand Bavaro resort. It was fabulous! The food was wonderful, the people were friendly and the service was fantastic! I highly recommend it!

Roadkill Chili Cookoff

Mindy hosted the 6th Annual Roadkill Chili cookoff. I won second place (behind Mindy's mom, Phyllis) with my wild hog chili recipe. A good time was had by all!

Grandma

I lost my 89 year old grandma last week. The funeral was yesterday. I feel kind of bad "glossing this over" because she was a wonderful, sweet lady and deserves all the honor I can bestow upon her. She had been in a nursing home and was suffering from dementia brought on simply by old age. Bless her heart, she just wore out.

I guess I'll share just this one thing... One of the things I remember about grandma from my childhood is long goodbyes. We would go to her house and, when it was time to go, she just wouldn't let us! To tell you the truth, it was a little annoying at the time, but we all knew it was because she loved us. It was during those long goodbyes that she would tell me, "David, I pray for you every day, every day, every day!" I later learned that when something is repeated in scripture, it's to add emphasis. I don't know if that's where grandma got the "every day, every day, every day" thing, but I do know she read her bible a lot, so it's a good theory.

Anyway, the point is, she really meant that she prayed for me every single day. And I have no doubt that she did. I really don't have any way of knowing what my life would have been like without all of grandma's prayers, but I'm grateful. Years later as an adult, I heard the song "Somebody's Prayin'" by Ricky Skaggs. I couldn't help but think Ricky was singin' about my grandma. And I still think of her everytime I hear that song. When he sings the part, "Lord, I thank you for those people prayin' all this time for me," well... I do feel a little emotional. Thanks, Grandma!

Everything Else

The above is just a part of everything that's happened over the last few months. I turned 50 years old. We lost a very special chicken. My mom broke her leg. And more. So much has happened! But I'll stop there. Remember, I was going to be brief!

More Pics of Warrenton

I have more pictures from Warrenton and realized my time is running out to share them. So without further explanation, look see!

Glimpses of Warrenton

Thought I would go ahead and give you a glimpse of what's going on in Warrenton. Believe it or not, I haven't taken that many pictures. It seems like I stay very busy.

Time Is Running Out

I'm sure you know that the big antique show in Warrenton is fast approaching. Mindy and I were there last weekend doing a little last minute preparation.

Well, while we were there, we found a Killdeer sitting on a couple of eggs.



Here's the mama Killdeer...



And here are her "babies"...



Mama Killdeer tried to lure us away from her eggs by feigning injury...



Unfortunately, the nest is right in a main driving area for the many trucks and travel trailers that will be rolling into this field in a few days. Eeeek!

Come on, babies, hurry up and hatch! Time is running out!