"and then I helped 'em figure out their next move when I said ..."
Once upon a time, a fellow named Tom Turkey was the richest, most productive entrepreneur in town. If there was a way to make money, he saw the opportunity first and then did it better than anyone who saw what he was doing next and tried to keep up with him. Other citizens did OK; they just weren’t as fast on their feet or quite as creative as old Tom.
There was another major difference between Tom and the others. You see, Tom was the only turkey in town. Everyone else was human. As a result, his ability to do so much better than anyone else galled a lot of people. Some gave him credit and held him up in admiration. For others, however, old Tom became their excuse for failure. For these latter type, two-faced people, their smiles of congratulations to Tom when they saw him face-to-face were always followed by the silent munblings of their envy as they walked away.
“That turkey!” was their quiet cry.
Tom’s other strong trait was his total dedication to that old adage, “to those blessed with special gifts for living, much is expected in return.” Tom Turkey donated to every legitimate charity in town and he was right there, standing tall, front and center among the first responders, anytime a local crisis or serious community disaster hit the people of the town. In fact, Tom showed up so predictably that a lot of other well-heeled citizens who also could have helped out in times of great unexpected need, simply didn’t.
“Let Tom do it,” became the not always totally silent cry of the miserly inclined. Others of that group did not bother to rationalize, even with the handy availability of Tom as a model. These wonderful folks simply turned their backs on the needs of others in times of community crisis with a rationale that pretty much traveled along these lines: “I didn’t invite the storm to hit. It’s not up to me to help those who got hurt by it. Let ’em pick themselves up by their own bootstraps. It will be a good test of whether or not they deserve to survive. And if they don’t, we’ll all be better off without them.”
Tom Turkey’s heart was not so cold. He always did all he could to help others until one year when so many bad things happened that his philanthropy pretty much used up all of his assets. For the first time in his life, Tom Turkey began to experience the curious human emotions of resentment and regret. It must have been the company he was keeping. Tom started to resent the people who needed him – and he regretted going broke in the name of helping out.
“What do they expect of me?” Tom asked himself. “I’m not Bill Gates or the federal government. I can’t just go print more money when I run out of the bucks I have now!”
Tom Turkey resolved to turn off the tap on charity until he ran into a situation on Thanksgiving Day that turned the last crank-notch on his giving heart. He accidentally walked into a large noon meal gathering of the 60% unemployed folks who had gathered there at a large community hall for the traditional meal.
The problem he saw was simple. The people had nothing to eat. Oh, they had dressing, and yams, and corn, and fruits, and pies of all kind, but they had no honey-baked ham – or meat of any kind. Their sad plight again moved Tom into action.
Tom jangled the last few remaining coins in his pocket as he considered how he would manage his own needs today without the money until he could make it back. If he used these limited funds to complete the meal for his needy friends and neighbors, he was going to be broke himself, at least, for the rest of the day.
Once decided, Tom offered his help, but he could have chosen his words more carefully on this morning of his last day on earth. It also would have helped Tom had he remembered the fact that, no matter how hard he had worked to fit in with the humans, in the end, he was not really one of them.
“OK, folks,” Tom Turkey said, “I’m here to make certain your meal plan is complete, but just be sure of one thing: This is the last time I’m sticking my neck out for you. … Any questions?”
Tags: Thanksgiving Tale
The Pecan Park Eagle 
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