“Now, I paid a deposit, right?” I asked the farmer as he handed me my 17-pound turkey and the accompanying receipt.

“Yes. You paid $20 on November 1 and the turkey total is $104. So, $84 total today,” he said with a smile.

“Right, right, of course,” I choked out, kicking myself for never once asking how much a fresh, free range, humanely raised, antibiotic-free 17-pound turkey costs these days. As I handed him all the remaining cash in my wallet, I asked, “So, uh, now do I have to clean the turk-”

“Oh, no ma’am. These have been cleaned for you. The neck and the giblets are inside in a bag. All you do is take them out, season your bird and throw it in the oven – 325 for just under 4 hours. Here’s a sheet with some hints and tips,” he said, sticking a folded paper in my bag. (Surely that accounted for some of the cost.)

I thanked him and tried to figure out how to get $100 worth of food out of the gobbler, concocting giblet casserole and turkey neck sandwiches in my head. At least the bird was fresh – no thawing. And it had been sufficiently cleaned. That was worth something, right?

I laughed out loud the entire way home from the farmers market shed at my hundred-dollar blunder. But just before I prepared to lug the beast three flights to our apartment, I actually became thankful.

“Thank you, God, that I can make a $50 or $60 mistake where Thanksgiving dinner is concerned…and that it doesn’t even phase us or blow our budget. Thank you for supplying every need…and then some. Thank you for the laughter this little miscalculation has brought.”

Because it’s good to laugh. And to be thankful. And to share turkey. (Should your turkey leftover supply run low, don’t hesitate to let me know.)

Tags: Farmers Market, laugh, thanksgiving, turkey  |  Posted under just a word...  |    1 Comment