A tale of two turkeys

Consider two turkeys. One is a wild turkey, part of a flock that lives in our pecan bottom along the banks of the Guadalupe River. She finds food, shelter, water, protection from predators and all the other things she needs to survive in her environment.

The second turkey lives across the road, not more than a mile from the first, in a house full of domestic turkeys being fattened for market. This turkey has a roof over her head, climate controlled air, is never too hot, never too cold. Food and water is automatically dispensed at all hours of the day and night for her consumption. The walls keep predators at bay.

One day a storm comes along and knocks down the house that the second turkey lives in. She and the rest are now out in the world, freed from their confines and a certain date with death in a slaughter house.

But the second turkey will die along with all or nearly all the rest of her kind in a place where everything she needs is there for the taking.

The average American citizen is a whole lot like that second turkey. They've grown up in a sheltered environment and haven't a clue how to make it in the real world.

And the storm is coming. Exactly when, I don't know. But it will come.

If you're one of those caged birds, now might be a good time to make friends with one of your wild cousins and begin to learn a thing or two about the planet where you live: where your food comes from, how to recognize predators, shelter, clothe and defend yourself. You need to lose some weight, strengthen your body, and break your addictions or you're not going to survive.