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THE ROONEY BIN: Talkin' turkey, and other political animals

Florida Times-Union - 11/21/2019

A cold front moved in last week, a welcome harbinger of fall and Turkey Day. Many Americans envision turkey as Thursday's delicious main course, but flocks of wild turkeys are causing a lot of indigestion for residents in the Holiday City section of Toms River, N.J.

Gangs of 25 or more wild turkeys have been terrorizing the community, pecking on doors, roofs and vehicles, blocking roads and driveways. Other fowl deeds include breaking windows and biting people. A news report said wildlife officials have warned that the turkeys may try to dominate or attack people they view as subordinates. Oh, the conceit!

Arrogantly speaking ... Q: What did one turkey say to the other when they saw the Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock? A: They look nice. Maybe they'll have us over for dinner.

Yikes! It's the revenge of the turkeys, but you can't blame it on the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth Plantation in 1621, when Gov. William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. The harvest was pretty good that year, and the pilgrims just needed to pick up a few things in the nearby forest for dinner.

The settlers didn't have a herd of cattle, because someone neglected to put cows on the Mayflower before they left England. (Hence the origin of the expression: "Where's the beef?") So the governor sent four men out to hunt wild turkeys for the entr'e; they returned with ducks and geese instead. Fortunately, American Indians invited to the feast brought five deer as a hostess gift or it would have been slim pickin's for 91 braves and 50 settlers.

Nevertheless, the pilgrims regularly hunted and ate eastern wild turkey, one of six turkey species that live in the U.S. In the early 1900s, the turkey population neared extinction, dropping to about 30,000 birds. However, restoration programs have raised that number to about seven million. I bet folks in Toms River aren't wild about that.

"Meleagris gallopavos" is the scientific name for Thanksgiving's main course, which is native to North America. Benjamin Franklin thought the bird deserved better than a few sides of mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and, don't forget the cranberry sauce. Franklin knew turkeys weren't terribly bright; it's said they will drown if they looked up in the rain. Nevertheless, he wanted the turkey to be the official bird of the United States, because he thought the bald eagle lacked courage.

Vicar's Landing boutique

A Boehm porcelain bald eagle was among the extraordinary items on sale at the annual Vicar's Landing Holiday Boutique. There was a time when the day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday, kicked off holiday spending sprees, but as Christmas creep begins earlier and earlier, holiday shopping precedes Thanksgiving.

On Nov. 12, a line formed outside the Vicar's Landing main entrance for a sale that featured an incredible assortment of donated treasures. In addition to the eagle, there was a replica Japanese Samurai helmet and sword, plus three Southwestern Mata Ortiz pots. The auditorium was packed with crystal and fine china, house wares, small furniture, lamps, antiques and more, while the hallway featured a collection of framed paintings and prints.

Another room was devoted to linens and still another filled with Christmas decorations. Shoppers took numbered tickets to wait in line for the jewelry shop that included costume trinkets and valuable jewelry, such as some David Yurman designer pieces.

Vicar's is a Ponte Vedra Beach continuing care community that provides independent and assisted living plus a health care center. The boutique has been operated for about 30 years by Vicar's residents, who volunteer to raise money for scholarships for employees. This year's sale netted more than $52,000. Ginny Elliot, Joan Tobey and Rose Murdock co-chaired the overall event. Larry Leek chaired the popular jewelry section.

"Many things about this sale were phenomenal," said Murdock. "On the second day, the sale was opened to Vicar's employees at reduced prices. The remainders go to the St. Vincent De Paul Society. Everything finds a good home."

Holiday pop-up shoppes

Shopping continued Nov. 14-16 at the 29th annual Holiday Pop-Up Shoppes at the Ponte Vedra Lodge & Club. Proceeds from the annual shopping spree benefit the Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach arts education programs serving local children and families as well as annual national exhibitions and related programming.

Nineteen vendors offered beautiful items sure to please everyone in the family from pets (Short Dog Jewelry) to children to Dad (Amelia Toffee) and mom--jewelry, jewelry, jewelry (Alter Designs, My Laura Lively, Artsy Phartsy,) clothes (Diane Snyder Cashmere, WildHeart Boutique,) shoes (Charleston Shoe Co.) and more. There also were beautiful hand-crafted ceramics for sale (Whimseas.) The Cummer Museum Shop was featured along with arts and crafts from a Cultural Center shop.

"The Cultural Center now has fiber arts and Ocean Wave Quilters," said Sharon Warner, center volunteer. This year's main sponsor was Publix Charities.

Fashion show benefit

A festive fall fashion show sponsored Nov. 12 by Stein Mart was presented at Casa Marina Hotel, Jacksonville Beach, to benefit PACE Center for Girls. Five adult guest models walked the runway along with 10 PACE girls, ages 14-18, who showed off two outfits each. News anchor Mary Baer, WJXT-TV4, and Stein Mart fashion coordinator Lana Kisiel co-chaired the event with Tami Garrett ,who coordinated the PACE models,.

PACE was founded in Jacksonville in 1985 as a community response to create gender responsive programming to help girls involved with the justice system who were placed in programs designed for boys or placed further into the system for their own protection. It began by serving 10 girls and currently includes 21 centers throughout Florida that help more than 3,000 girls annually. It is now recognized as a national model for reducing recidivism and improving school success, employment and self-sufficiency. Go to PaceCenter.org.

The girls were excited to be models for the day. When asked to select two outfits to model, one girl told Kisiel that she had never picked out her own clothes before. The girls were also thrilled when they later learned they would each get to keep one outfit and a pair of shoes.

Art opening

Ponte Vedra artist Ellen Diamond celebrated a 50 year retrospective of painting with a special exhibit at The Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach. The show, appropriately named Chasing Color, opened with a VIP reception Nov. 15. Diamond has been chasing colors since her childhood growing up near the beach in Brooklyn, New York. She used to sit at the side of her father, Ben Clements, with crayons and paper trying to copy his work. Clements was a well-known portrait artist, who painted elite New Yorkers. One of his extraordinary paintings hangs in Diamond's Cultural Center exhibit.

Diamond was inspired by the colors of Long Island beaches, European travels with her husband Jay and, since moving to Ponte Vedra 20 years ago, the Beaches and Intracoastal Waterway. She calls her work contemporary impressionism, but the remarkable 24 paintings in the show reflect different styles; she works with patterns and fracturing, using broken shapes in a Cubistic manner. Each reflects personal meanings. For example, in her travels she captured the color and excitement of "Saturday Morning Market in Provence," and her spiritual motivation emerges in the religious stories of Ruth and Naomi and Jacob's Ladder.

The show is free to the public and runs until Jan. 11. The center is at 50 Executive Way, Ponte Vedra Beach. For information, call (904) 280-0614 or go to CCPVB.org.

*The final word...

Another famous American with a high regard for poultry was President Harry Truman. In 1947 he initiated the White House tradition of pardoning a turkey on Thanksgiving eve. Every year, the National Turkey Federation -- how would you like to be a card-carrying member of that group? --presents a live turkey to the president along with two dressed birds. The live bird receives a presidential pardon and is sent to a petting zoo in Herndon, Va.White House occupants dine on the dressed birds.

During the 1997 pardoning ritual, President Clinton said, "We can all be grateful that there will be one less turkey in Washington."

Jackie Rooney is a freelance writer living in Ponte Vedra Beach. Contact her at rooneybin@comcast.net.

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