The Gutting of Birdzilla (Happy Thanksgiving!)

(Nov. 27)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

It's about 9:30 here, and we've just finished our second Thanksgiving celebration of the week, this time with a gathering of missionaries at the Crowes' house. The day had a much different flavor than my past Thanksgivings, and it was hard to realize that it was indeed Thanksgiving and that people were getting up on the other side of the world to cook their turkeys and bake their pumpkin pies.

We actually had a turkey, (which are hard to come by, seemingly) and it was quite a "beast," as Bruce called it. I was very glad for it, just for the idea of having a turkey, but I think it was a rather ancient fowl. This afternoon, Bruce was in the kitchen making his special stuffing, Deb was assisting Bruce like the dedicated wife she is as well as preparing her own dishes, and I was...I can't remember. Doing my usual puttering. Following people around washing their dishes.

So it came out that the turkey needed gutting. It was on the kitchen counter wrapped up in a plastic bag. After some discussion in which Bruce flatly refused to do it, I volunteered/was elected to remove the innards. I thought "Why not? There's a first time for everything." Although I've been forced against my will to watch Mom clean out chickens in the past, I don't think I've ever actually done it myself. She says I must gut a chicken before I will be allowed to marry. Well, I went the whole way this time and did a turkey. So now I can get hitched at any time, hehe.

I must say that I almost renigged when I peeled back the plastic bag. Deb and I both were pretty grossed out at the sight of the dry, leathery skin, the portruding purple neck with its wrinkles of pimply blackish skin, and the singed places where the feathers had been. It didn't appear to be a healthy animal. Then or now. But it didn't smell at all, and we didn't have to pluck it! How bad could it really be? And then I always think, someday I could be off in the wilds somewhere butchering emus with my bare hands, and then I'll be glad I once gutted a turkey...

No, I cheated, actually. Deb gave me a pair of plastic gloves which I threw away afterwards, and I plunged into the dark cavern of turkeyness and pulled out all kinds of interesting goodies. I have decided I will never be a doctor. Seeing the glove all caked with blood and finally pulling out what looked like the trachea (do turkeys have tracheas?) was almost too much to me. I actually found it easier to mess with it without the gloves on, because there's less left to the imagination. Although there's still the same amount of squish and ish, you know what you're putting your hand on, and not caught up imagining what it feels like it is.

After its innard removing operation and a good rinse, Birdzilla was a passable candidate for stuffing, but Deb and I kept eyeing the thing and thinking this was like no bird we had ever seen. Probably not genetically engineered for an American Thanksgiving dinner. Possibly it was a much more "real" turkey than we had ever eaten before, but also a much older turkey than we had ever eaten before as well.

But we stuffed him, the three of us standing round, and Deb tied him up with crosstitch floss, and popped him in the oven.

The evening was a pleasant one, and it was nice to see missionaries from the neighboring town whom I don't see that much.

The bird turned out strange to say the least. We really aren't sure if it was a turkey or not. There was dark meat where light meat is supposed to be, and the whole carcass had a grisly appearance to me. Maybe it was due to my previous involvment, but I could hardly get my little piece down, between all the chewing required and the thoughts to be dealt with while chewing. There was also a unique taste.

Thank the Lord that turkey is NOT the point of Thanksgiving! There's always pumpkin pie... No, really, God is so good to us and I love Him so much. I want to thank Him more and more, for the little things and the big ones, because He is intimately aquainted with every detail of life. And, I really am thankful for the turkey...it didn't have to taste good. It's just special to have a turkey on Thanksgiving, even if only for the idea of it :)