"Thanksgiving for the Turkeys" was everything that I hoped it would be and more. It was a truly moving experience, made all the more special by the fact that my wife, Lori, was able to share in it with me and get a first hand perspective on how special Farm Sanctuary is.
In keeping with one of my "Brian-isms", we arrived a little on the early side (okay 30 minutes early). Since there was a 3 hour drive involved in getting there, I didn't want to take any chances or miss anything. After checking in and getting our badges, we wandered about, enjoyed the clean air and scenery, and checked out the gift shop. In the gift shop, there were a wide array of items for silent auction. Having failed to win anything at the "Walk for Farm Animals" silent auction, I was determined to do better this time around by not letting Lori do the bidding. She is super sweet, but a tad on the cheap-side. There would be time for that later though.
We eagerly headed down to the farm gate, intent on checking things out before the crowds arrived. This is where the getting there early part bit us. We would have to wait about 20 minutes. No worries, this gave me time to fetch Lori some gloves and a scarf from the car and to take some pictures of the scene.
For those who are not familiar with the event, "Thanksgiving for the Turkeys" is an opportunity to "turn the tables", so to speak, and spend some time with turkeys before feeding them a Thanksgiving dinner of fruits vegetables, and Vegan stuffing. I had never been to one of these before so it was pretty exciting. In my previous visit to the farm I had the opportunity to pet one of the turkeys and had been amazed by how calm she was. That was until the rest of the flock voted that it was time for me to move on, but given their past plight I can't begrudge them of that.
When one o' clock finally came, I was immediately and pleasantly surprised by how many opportunities were presented to meet and spend time with the animals on the farm. Coco, a gentle and amazingly resilient goat, and I have a gentleman-goat agreement that she is to be first on my list every time I am at the Farm. She continues to recover amazingly well from what can only be called a ghastly experience at human hands. Most of the animals here have similar and heartbreaking stories, but they have bounced back and provide an amazing inspiration. Coco was continuing her recovery and this made me very happy. Lori finally had a chance to meet her after hearing me go on and on about her and my previous visits. She was a little aloof today, but I think it was because of the fact that there were a lot more people around than normal. She let me pet her for a bit and feed her some grass from my hand and then it was time to bid her adieu.
In the adjacent pasture, there were a large number of cows. I could only imagine what might be going through Lori's mind right now. She has a strong fear of cows based on being chased by them when she was little. The fact that she was riding on a hay truck delivering food to the cows in the field clearly shows that there was no malice involved but, as with many childhood memories, they are indelibly inked on the growing brain. As we walked through the pasture gate I wondered how she would respond. Before I could give that too much thought, a blur of brown and white was bearing down on me. It was Whitaker the calf coming to head-butt me. Since Whitaker and I had spent some time together last time I was there, I chose to take this gesture as a "Welcome back buddy". I think this may have only reinforced Lori's worries. Whitaker hung out with us for a while and Lori mustered the courage to pet him. He is a really sweet calf and is still smaller than his herd mates. He has a really cute cow face with big eyes, long eyelashes, and a propensity to lick. Lori seemed to be enjoying her first introduction and getting used to the unique feel of cow tongues. We had the chance to spend time with Casey, Phoenix, Linus, Moe, Harrison, and several other cows whose names I must admit I can't remember at the moment. The fact that I remember as many as I do is a testament to them since I would not be so good at recalling the names of people I had just met. They were all amazingly gentle for their massive size and willing to tolerate our attempts at bonding with them.
Bonnie and Waylon, two friendly donkeys who are also best friends, were also in the pasture and we had a chance to visit with them as well. The first time I saw Bonnie, she had a really hard time moving due to some severe abuse and neglect that she had suffered, but she has steadily gotten better and she looked like a whole other donkey today. She is the smaller of the two and has a shiny black coat, augmented now by her winter growth. She was adorable and so was Waylon. He has been her guardian since she arrived and helped take care of her when she was unable to do so for herself. It is touching to see how compassionate the animals are for each other. This capacity that they possess makes the suffering they endure at human hands all the more profound and intolerable.
After communicating a, "See ya later" in fluent donkey, we went to visit the geriatric cows in their field. The term geriatric is a little misleading since many of the cows are not actually old but the treatment that they received in the farming industry aged them before their time and they are kept together to with the older cows. Hank is their leader and we spent some time talking to him and petting his fur. He is the brave one of the bunch who checks things out and demonstrates to the othesr when it is safe to go outside. This is yet another example of the animal relationships that are not acknowledged or recognized by most people who see them as only food. We greeted each of the herd before moving on to the rest of the farm.
The period from one to three was for farm tours prior to the Turkey feeding, so we had to keep going if we were going to meet everyone. We walked past the ducks on the way to the pigs and goats, but I couldn't see Penny, our adopted duck. As we headed for the pigs, I saw a path leading down to the turkeys and decided to go check that out. Lori continued to the pigs, but I quickly found myself in the feeding area where a very nice spread of platters was laid out for the turkeys to choose from. There were about 10 turkeys in the enclosure and I felt obliged to introduce myself. First there was Amelinda, the first of our 7 adopted turkeys. She was a little reluctant at first, but after several seconds of trust earning she consented to be petted under her wing. Her feathers still had more growing in to do, but she was a beautiful bird and lucky to have found a home here. Allie was next and she allowed me to pet her under the wing and on the neck and head. Most people will never know this first hand, but turkeys are amazingly soft. Almost all of the turkeys had suffered brutal de-beakings, in which a large portion of the beak is removed without anesthesia. This is done to prevent them from pecking each other in the stressful environments that they are raised in when factory farmed. The majority are also de-toed. Combined with the fact that they have been genetically bred to be highly overweight, the end result is a bird who could be forgiven for holding a grudge. These birds, however, proved to be very angelic, both in appearance and demeanor.
Fearing that Lori may be having a pig overdose, I decided that I should go check on her. Thanks to the ridiculously trumped up concerns over "Swine Flu", the pigs have been removed from public access. While you can see them in their little pig nests in the barn, you cannot pet them during the public tours (You can still do so during private adoption tours which is definitely a good reason to adopt/sponsor a pig), so Lori had moved on to the goats and sheep. One of the highlights of the event, in my opinion, was the fact that Gene Baur, the co-founder and president of Farm Sanctuary, was there. We had previously waved to him as he arrived in his Kia. As Lori relates it, she and Gene had talked for ages when she had the chance to meet him in the goat pen. Somehow, during the course of their conversation she failed to inquire as to whether they may have any jobs for me. Gee whiz, what am I going to do about her? Anyway, Gene was involved in an interview by the time that I got there so a chance meeting/job inquiry was not in the cards.
As it turned out, the sheep and goats were also a little aloof on account of the large number of people and, since I never want to forget that the farm is about them and not about me, we decided to let them have some "alone time", at least from us. It was closing in on three o'clock anyway so it was time to head on back to the turkeys. Since Lori had never met a turkey before, I took the lead in introducing her to Allie. Slowly Lori's hand replaced mine on Allie's neck and head, and I think it was a good experience for both of them. Before we knew it, it was feeding time and things got really crowded. In order to minimize any stress on the turkeys, the feeding occurred in shifts. To say that the turkeys were excited would be an understatement. Most of them were veterans of this event and they seemed to know exactly what was to come. When my shift came, I literally got to stuff a turkey with stuffing the humane and natural way. Boy, are they messy eaters! After participating in the festivities, I relinquished my spot so that others could have their turn with these special birds. I am convinced that if more people had the opportunity to look into the eyes of a turkey, there would be a lot less people willing to eat these noble birds, and a lot less suffering.
Lori had wandered off while I was feeding the turkeys. She has a habit of doing so if you don't keep an eye or leash on her. As I headed back to the cow pasture looking for her, I passed the duck pond/pen and thought I saw Penny. There was only one way to know for sure. "Penny", I called, "Penny". Suddenly a duck turned and walked toward me with her beak open and her tail wagging. It was Penny. While she isn't too fond of being touched by people, she seems to love to hear her name. Before long a few other people stopped by and I introduced them to "my duck" Penny, and we took turns calling her name and watching what seemed to be genuine joy in her eyes and tail feathers. There were plenty of opportunities for these bonding moments during the day, both with the animals and with the other people attending the event. Much like the military members have a special bond based on shared experiences, there is an inherent kinship between people who share a passion for animal well-being.
After spending some more time with the cows, we were "herded" into line for dinner (When on the farm, do as the animals do). While the food was excellent (Definitely the best I have had since going Vegan...no offense Lori, they set the bar really high here), it was somewhat anti-climactic in comparison to the rest of the day. We had a nice time chatting with the people at our table and I even remember one of their names which is rare for me. Truth be told, his name was Brian, but it should still count. This also speaks to the shared passion since I normally do not enjoy meeting strangers in these types of situations. Recalling my pledge to win something during the auction, at one point I did return to make some bids. As I explained to Lori upon my return, I would either be lucky and win something, or unlucky and win everything I had bid on. Actually there was no way to lose since the animals would win in either event.
For the record, I did get a chance to meet Gene during the dinner. I am proud to say that I did not do anything crass like solicit a job, but I did get the chance to do what I had wanted to do since reading his book and first hearing of the sanctuary, and that was to say "Thank you". He kindly accepted my thank you and handshake, and we had a brief chat about how, while we were all part of this, the leadership he has shown in the cause cannot be understated (In his defense, those were my words and not his). I sat back down after our chat feeling very satisfied.
Later in the evening Gene and a few of the other guests spoke about the significance of the event and the ways that we can kindly and gently bring about change. The talks were very moving and in keeping with one of Farm Sanctuary's core strengths, which is the ability of soft and targeted influence to make a difference in people's hearts and minds. Repeatedly smacking people upside the head with the gruesome images of factory farming (And they are gruesome to say the least) pales when viewed alongside education. Farm Sanctuary is at a crossroads of the inhumane aspects of modern farming, its environmental impact, and the "elephant in the room" which is how modern food has been changed into something that can no longer be called "natural". There is a very powerful message that develops at this convergence.
The auction results were announced next. Name after name was called out and none of them matched mine or Lori's. Then after about 7 names, mine was read as the "Night's big winner" which implied that I may indeed have won everything I bid on. After paying for and collecting my booty for the night, I headed toward the car where Lori was patiently waiting for me with the first load of my winnings.
As I walked down the path, grateful for the Christmas lights that demarcated it, I was impressed by two things. The first was how dark it is out there in the country with no light pollution and no stars or moon; it was overcast by now although it had been beautifully sunny all day. The second was how closely these little Christmas light bulbs resembled those of us who had assembled here this night. We face a lot of scary darkness in the realities around us and sometimes it seems to threaten to envelop us, but these little points of light can provide both security and direction for those looking to find their way. They can also be seen from a distance and attract others. I must add these lights, both literally and figuratively, to my list of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
