Sometimes
things happen when you least expect it and they can totally turn your day
around. This was one of those times.
I was driving down Sugarloaf Mountain Road thinking about the state of my affairs, which, if I had any thing to say about them, would be substantially different ~ Way Better ~ to be more specific. I came around a corner and what I saw before me was too weird to be true.
There was a man on a bicycle, moving rather slowly as he was pedaling up a steep incline. And running beside him was a long legged turkey.
I was driving down Sugarloaf Mountain Road thinking about the state of my affairs, which, if I had any thing to say about them, would be substantially different ~ Way Better ~ to be more specific. I came around a corner and what I saw before me was too weird to be true.
There was a man on a bicycle, moving rather slowly as he was pedaling up a steep incline. And running beside him was a long legged turkey.
I
was shocked silly!
I
pumped my brake pedal.
The
turkey looked very tall;
the
man looked very unhappy.
I
rolled down my window and leaned out to get a better look. The poor man was
trying to pedal even as the bird viciously pecked at him. I
casually asked him if this was his pet turkey. He had a hard time talking but
he squawked something like, “this damn bird is trying to kill me!”
As I slowed my car beside them, the turkey was loudly vocal and partially threw out his tail feathers into a fan. He was dark brown, wild, and rather trim, apparently from jogging. He appeared to be much more in control than his opponent ~ gobbling, fanning and pecking at the poor fellow !
As I slowed my car beside them, the turkey was loudly vocal and partially threw out his tail feathers into a fan. He was dark brown, wild, and rather trim, apparently from jogging. He appeared to be much more in control than his opponent ~ gobbling, fanning and pecking at the poor fellow !
The
gentleman biker had grey hair under his little helmet, and shiny black bike shorts that fit tightly on his upper thighs leaving the rest of his poor leg
exposed. I feel quite confident in assuming he had no idea when he dressed
that day that he would be fending off, or
racing against, a rabid running turkey.
Lest you think I am being unfair to the biker, he outweighed the bird by 150 pounds at least, and I will confess, under different circumstances, I would have found them both equally attractive specimens.
Lest you think I am being unfair to the biker, he outweighed the bird by 150 pounds at least, and I will confess, under different circumstances, I would have found them both equally attractive specimens.
I
wanted to yell some encouraging words to the man on the bike but I was
struggling not to laugh out loud. It
was tough; I was choking up as I wiped tears from my eyes.
As
I slowly rolled down the road, the scene in my rear view mirror was so comical
I nearly wet my pants. That
long legged turkey ran beside the bike in a dead heat.
I
believe the fellow was trying to throw a kick at the bird without losing
momentum. The turkey, displaying a much keener sense of physical prowess and never
missing a stride, would expand his tail feathers and then pull them back into a
neat bundle.
I
know it is cliché, but seriously,
the
last thing I heard as I rolled around the next curve
was
the man screaming curses
to
which the turkey answered with a long gobble.
No
matter what is going on in my life,
I
would rather be the turkey than the biker.
Archives
August 25, 2009
