Why did the turkey cross the road?
Like a "flock of birds", did you know that a group of turkeys
is called a "rafter"?

More Thanksgiving Day writing & blogging prompts are this-a-way at Creativity Portal. Go gobble 'em up »
Posted November-5-2007
Chris's "A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words" Photo Prompt

Have you ever seen a "turkey crossing" sign before? I saw one for the first time in my life a couple of weeks ago when I was driving into a wooded section of town known for its novel attraction of "rafters" (not flocks) of wild turkeys.

As I approached one particular section near a retirement home, my eye caught this sign (above) on the side of the road, both coming and going, with another sign for "Deer Crossing" on the opposite side of the street. Deer and Turkeys, oh my! (Speaking of turkeys, what do you call a fast-talking-gobbler trying to pull you into the latest MLM opportunity? A TURNKEY! What? Of course I made that up! )

At first I was surprised and then amused because I couldn't believe such a sign existed. My next thought was to snap a photo of this sign because otherwise nobody would believe me! (Would YOU have believed me if you didn't see the sign yourself?)

The turkeys inhabiting the area are so fun to watch when they're out and about because they freely walk through the neighborhood and congregate in every place they please: in parking lots, residential front yards, on top of fences, in the trees, and sometimes (slowly) crossing the roads. Sometimes you'll see one or two in a group strutting around with their rear feathers fully fanned out just like the traditional-looking celebratory "Thanksgiving" parade turkey. Seeing that is a thrill akin to hearing the dirt being sucked up your vacuum cleaner hose!

THANKfully, the area is mostly quiet and the locals are happy to accommodate this novel attraction. However, sometimes when the turkeys are crossing the street motorists sometimes get a little fowl-tempered because the turkeys are in no hurry (why would they be?) and sometimes they don't seem very smart either (the turkeys, well, sometimes the motorists too).

For example, it's not uncommon to have to slowly move your vehicle through a group of turkeys (not run them over, just gently encourage them out of the way) to make them see the importance of moving before becoming turkey pot pie. The first time I encountered a rafter of turkeys blocking the road, I kindly got out of my car and tried to gently shoosh them out of the way. They just looked at me like I was wilder than they were, so I instantly learned that a stronger mode persuasion was necessary for these gobbledygooks. And when they became eye-level with my front bumper and the letters on my license plate looked like a moving billboard coming to eat them, they got the message and scattered.

My guess is that the installment of these new "turkey crossing" signs is both a reminder to drivers to be careful and alert to these frolicking feathery friends AND to the turkeys themselves to scoot along more quickly when cars are approaching (well, I can wish, can't I?).

Now if I can only think of a good punch line to "Why did the turkey cross the road?" I'll be set. Hey, I think that makes the most perfect Thanksgiving writing or blogging prompt, don't you? And if you've got your feathery druthers about you and want to respond to the prompt in a blog post, send me a link to it and I'll share it here. Meanwhile, I've put up a whole bunch more Thanksgiving writing prompts at the Creativity Portal. Meander on over, won't you? •

Turkey-riffic Update!

Lilly Fluger of LillyArts.com sent me a humorous response to the question "Why did the turkey cross the road?" Visit her Thanksgiving page to read it.

© 2007 Chris Dunmire www.chrisdunmire.com. All rights reserved.