Turkeys on Thanksgiving

Rebel Girl and her family had been worried about the flock of turkeys that lives off the main road in Modjeska Canyon.  The birds often stop traffic on the road, especially the morning elementary school carpool which can come to a complete halt (really, a complete get-out-of-the-car-and-shoo-kind-of-stop). The birds are definitely "free range," like most animals in the canyons.

But as Thanksgiving approached the little guy grew concerned.  He'd ask, "How could someone eat an animal they know?" 

Explaining the way the world works (and doesn't work) to a ten-year-old can be humbling and educational for the explainer. 

Then, yesterday, there the flock was in all their turkey glory, strutting into the road on Thanksgiving afternoon, once again stopping traffic and not, as Rebel Girl had imagined, being served on fine platters across the county.

The little guy was not surprised but his mother sure was. 

Gobble, gobble.

*

My Life as a Turkey

Prïtourïtze Planinata, etc.

     This video is made up of parts from one of my favorite films, Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man (1996), with Johnny Depp and Robert Mitchum.
     The movie's soundtrack is provided by Neil Young. Pretty wonderful stuff.

     Yes, Helen Mirren is a goddess, but she couldn't save Pascali's Island, an interesting but not entirely successful film released in the late 80s. I remember seeing the movie with Kathie. We left the theater awestruck by the music, particularly the movie's main theme, and so, some period later, I bought the soundtrack, for a never forget a song, especially a great one. And that was that.
     Today, I came to learn that the song (Prïtourïtze Planinata—Song From the Thracian Plain) is traditional in Bulgary. When Bulgarian music and singing was showcased on an album released in the U.S. back in the late 80s, it made quite a splash, owing to charming peculiarities of Bulgarian vocals.
     Evidently, the album to get is this one: Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares. The video above features that album's recording of "Song From the Thracian Plain."