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| Photo courtesy of George P. |
A Story From the Life of George P.
Ghostwritten by Mauretta P.
One Year, Thirteen Turkeys and a Good Fighter
I sat staring at my one delicate, female turkey as the golden glow of the Grecian sunset filled my vision. It was the year that I had had the most free time, yet the least freedom. The schools were shut down, and the Nazis occupied our island of Lefkatha. I thank the Nazis for that.
The Nazis couldn’t take away my turkey, so I decided it was time to get to work.
The next day I found a male turkey and it mated with my female turkey. Then I waited and waited until I awoke and the turkey had laid twelve perfect eggs. Twelve eggs, untouched, innocent and shielded from the horror of the world. The female turkey sat on the eggs alone, protecting them and holding down the fort. My mother, I decided, was just like the mother turkey. She took care of Spyros and me while my Dad was getting an education in Athens.
I fed the female turkey well as she sat upon her eggs. She ate wheat, corn, water and grain. I practiced patience, waiting and waiting for the eggs to hatch. These turkeys were mine, my responsibility; they were my heart and soul.
When the eggs began to burst with life, I felt immense joy seeing that these delicate beings had a new life. One different from the life I was living. I ran from my house to retrieve my cousin Thanassi, and then I gathered my mother and my brother Spyros. I had succeeded.
My cousin Thanassi owned a turkey too. His turkeys and my turkeys were friendly with each other, but but one of the chicks that I had raised was an especially good fighter. So Thanassi and I walked to my neighbor’s house, where a boy my age had a turkey too. It became competitive as my turkey and my neighbor’s turkey would attack one another violently. It became a game and I wanted my turkey to win.
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My breaths got a little faster as I walked up to my neighbor’s house, turkey in hand and cousin by my side. I looked left and right, carefully scanning his house. The birds chirped and the grasshoppers clicked as we sat waiting. We weren’t sure if anyone was home, so we took a gamble. Carefully, I approached the household, focusing on not letting my dirt covered bare feet make any noise. Thanassi and I slipped into the backyard, being careful not to cause a fuss at my neighbor’s house.
“If the neighbor comes we can wrestle him and take his turkey,” I joked, lightly chuckling.
“Don’t worry, George, we can do this,” whispered Thanassi back, signaling that it was time to stop messing around and get to work.
The neighbor’s turkey was conveniently roaming in the backyard of my neighbor’s house.
Thanassi held down the neighbor’s thrashing, gobbling turkey as I set mine on the ground. In an instant the turkeys necks were intertwined and their back feathers stood up. My turkey’s entire body was engaged, always moving, clucking, and on guard. The neighbor’s turkey, on the other hand, fought against its circumstances without success. I picked up my turkey when I thought it was enough, and Thanassi and I went home.
Later that day, the neighbor came over with his turkey, and it whimpered with fear at the sight of mine.
“Come on buddy you were a champion before, what’s stopping you now?” questioned my neighbor. Thanassi and I giggled and I knew without even looking that Thanassi had a slight smirk of confidence. I resisted the urge to look at Thanassi, or we’d end up rolling on the ground with suspicious laughter.
“I have a feeling that this time we will win,” sighed my cousin Thanassi, tapping his feet.
The fight began and our turkey continued his usual head drive into the other, but this time it was different. My neighbor’s turkey whined and stepped backwards with every move; it moved with a newfound intimidation. My turkey, however, had a fresh sense of perseverance and strength over its previous dominator. Thrashing and clashing, my turkey gnawed its head into the other turkey without mercy.
“Stop, stop, stop,” exclaimed my neighbor. “This is the first time he’s ever been defeated.”
I picked up my turkey, letting a sweet smile spread across my face. I looked over to Thanassi who exploded with a burst of laughter. I guess he found it funny that we fooled our neighbor, but I found within myself a sense of accomplishment. Yes, I had cheated; but I had also made it. I made it through that year by raising thirteen turkeys, one of which became the greatest fighter. My turkeys had brought me the most freedom I had that summer, and the happiest memory I had of my childhood.
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| Photo courtesy of Britannica ImageQuest |
