Some years ago, the associate pastor at my former church in Florida was talking with his young son about what he had learned in his mission group the night before. Their conversation went something like this:
“Dad,” the boy said excitedly, “did you know that there’s a country named Chicken?”
“What?”
“I said did you know that there’s a country named Chicken?”
“Son, there’s no country named…”
“Oh, yes, there is, Dad! We learned about it last night. Our teacher said there’s a country named…er, uh…wait a minute…it’s Turkey! That’s it! There’s a country named Turkey!”
Linguistically, the boy was in the right church but the wrong pew. He knew it was poultry but he had zeroed in on the wrong bird.
This week, a lot of turkeys are hoping that somehow they will be lucky enough to be misidentified as well. It’s that time of the year when many gobblers (quite reluctantly) will find their way into ovens and fryers all across America.
Thanksgiving and turkeys have this long association going back to the very origins of the American holiday tradition. In fact, many Americans think it’s absolutely unpatriotic or even sacrilegious to dine on anything other than turkey on the fourth Thursday of November! This Thanksgiving/ turkey connection in our national psyche has infiltrated even the highest levels of our federal government. One of the grandest traditions associated with Thanksgiving is the annual “pardoning” of the National Thanksgiving Turkey by the President of the United States himself. 
This year is the 60th anniversary of the hallowed Washington ritual, first conducted in 1947. On that occasion, President Harry S Truman, in a gesture of benevolence and goodwill, “pardoned” the first such bird-on-the-chopping-block, canceling its imminent date with destiny aboard a garnished platter. This yearly death sentence commutation has since become an important responsibility of our nation’s Chief Executive, continuing throughout eleven presidential administrations, up to the present day.
In recent years, the naming of the National Thanksgiving Turkey (as well as his alternate, should he be unable to fulfill the duties of his high office) has become a national event via an Internet poll. On www.whitehouse.gov, citizens are able to cast their ballots for their favorite pair of monikers. This year's options are Wing & Prayer, May & Flower, Gobbler & Rafter, Wish & Bone, Truman & Sixty, or Jake & Tom. The winner will be personally announced by the President at the “pardoning” ceremony. (I voted for “Truman” and “Sixty,” in case you’re interested. By the way, last year’s winners were Flyer & Fryer!)
What happens to the feathered friend that gets pardoned? An all-
expenses-paid vacation to Istanbul (Turkey)? A trip to Colonel Sanders’ original Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky (the city where Sandy Davis was born)? No. Something stranger than that. After the presentation, the honored fowl will be flown first class (!) to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where he will be the grand marshal of Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Afterward, the bird will join the resort's permanent live-animal collection. This is the first pardoned turkey to be sent to Disney World. Just think...all of those years that Sandy and I lived near Disney and we never got to see the National Thanksgiving Turkey! I feel so deprived! (By the way, last year’s winner was sent to the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, just in case you were wanting to know.)
All of this turkey talk is making me hungry. Evidently it’s time to wrap up this blog. It’s also time to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! Remember that Thanksgiving is far more than food, football and family. While your celebration may include any or all of those elements, please don’t forget the One to Whom we need to direct our thanks —our Creator, our Sustainer, our
Provider, our God. For truly, because of God’s amazing grace, we as Americans— and even much more so as Christians— have SO MUCH for which to be thankful.
But just in case you don’t feel like you have anything to be thankful for, at least be grateful that our Pilgrim forefathers decided against serving cooked possum as the main dish that first Thanksgiving. If they had, I’m not sure you would be cleaning your plate this coming Thursday.
Pastor Danny
“Dad,” the boy said excitedly, “did you know that there’s a country named Chicken?”
“What?”
“I said did you know that there’s a country named Chicken?”
“Son, there’s no country named…”
“Oh, yes, there is, Dad! We learned about it last night. Our teacher said there’s a country named…er, uh…wait a minute…it’s Turkey! That’s it! There’s a country named Turkey!”
Linguistically, the boy was in the right church but the wrong pew. He knew it was poultry but he had zeroed in on the wrong bird.
This week, a lot of turkeys are hoping that somehow they will be lucky enough to be misidentified as well. It’s that time of the year when many gobblers (quite reluctantly) will find their way into ovens and fryers all across America.
Thanksgiving and turkeys have this long association going back to the very origins of the American holiday tradition. In fact, many Americans think it’s absolutely unpatriotic or even sacrilegious to dine on anything other than turkey on the fourth Thursday of November! This Thanksgiving/ turkey connection in our national psyche has infiltrated even the highest levels of our federal government. One of the grandest traditions associated with Thanksgiving is the annual “pardoning” of the National Thanksgiving Turkey by the President of the United States himself. 
This year is the 60th anniversary of the hallowed Washington ritual, first conducted in 1947. On that occasion, President Harry S Truman, in a gesture of benevolence and goodwill, “pardoned” the first such bird-on-the-chopping-block, canceling its imminent date with destiny aboard a garnished platter. This yearly death sentence commutation has since become an important responsibility of our nation’s Chief Executive, continuing throughout eleven presidential administrations, up to the present day.
In recent years, the naming of the National Thanksgiving Turkey (as well as his alternate, should he be unable to fulfill the duties of his high office) has become a national event via an Internet poll. On www.whitehouse.gov, citizens are able to cast their ballots for their favorite pair of monikers. This year's options are Wing & Prayer, May & Flower, Gobbler & Rafter, Wish & Bone, Truman & Sixty, or Jake & Tom. The winner will be personally announced by the President at the “pardoning” ceremony. (I voted for “Truman” and “Sixty,” in case you’re interested. By the way, last year’s winners were Flyer & Fryer!)What happens to the feathered friend that gets pardoned? An all-
expenses-paid vacation to Istanbul (Turkey)? A trip to Colonel Sanders’ original Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky (the city where Sandy Davis was born)? No. Something stranger than that. After the presentation, the honored fowl will be flown first class (!) to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, where he will be the grand marshal of Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Afterward, the bird will join the resort's permanent live-animal collection. This is the first pardoned turkey to be sent to Disney World. Just think...all of those years that Sandy and I lived near Disney and we never got to see the National Thanksgiving Turkey! I feel so deprived! (By the way, last year’s winner was sent to the original Disneyland in Anaheim, California, just in case you were wanting to know.)All of this turkey talk is making me hungry. Evidently it’s time to wrap up this blog. It’s also time to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! Remember that Thanksgiving is far more than food, football and family. While your celebration may include any or all of those elements, please don’t forget the One to Whom we need to direct our thanks —our Creator, our Sustainer, our
Provider, our God. For truly, because of God’s amazing grace, we as Americans— and even much more so as Christians— have SO MUCH for which to be thankful.But just in case you don’t feel like you have anything to be thankful for, at least be grateful that our Pilgrim forefathers decided against serving cooked possum as the main dish that first Thanksgiving. If they had, I’m not sure you would be cleaning your plate this coming Thursday.
Pastor Danny
