John Burkel and his wife, Joni, with the turkey slated to be pardoned
Posted on 11/25/2013 5:37:29 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
BADGER, Minn.—The last thing President Barack Obama needs this Thanksgiving is a frantic turkey fouling up Wednesday's White House pardon ceremony. It is John Burkel's job to make sure that doesn't happen.
The problem is that turkeys aren't used to being paraded in front of a crowd of noisy schoolchildren, posing for flash photography or encountering the Secret Service. In past years, the stress has led the ceremonial bird to flap about and try to escape after being spooked by everything from a shiny belt buckle to First Family pets.
Mr. Burkel, the fourth-generation farmer selected to supply this year's turkey, took no chances. He put his birds through a regimen he hopes will acclimate them to the sights, sounds and feel of the public pardon process, all in an effort to prevent them from ruining the festivities.
"The more people who are around, the more jumpy they get, unless they are used to it," said Mr. Burkel, this year's chairman of the National Turkey Federation, a trade group tasked with raising the pardoned bird.
Mr. Burkel randomly selected 80 male poults—young fowls generally destined for the dinner table—to audition. Twenty made the initial cut, selected mainly for their plump, snowy good looks. Last week, Mr. Burkel picked the two toms who will go to Washington—the lucky bird along with an understudy.
The birds trained in a 16-by-20 foot shed that Mr. Burkel built behind his home. He ran them through four hours of drills daily—a two-hour session in the morning before Mr. Burkel attended to his farm chores, followed by another two-hour class in the evening.
The most basic exercises are lifts, because the turkey is hoisted onto a table at the White House just before his reprieve.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
John Burkel and his wife, Joni, with the turkey slated to be pardoned
Who knew?
One turkey pardoning another. Novel idea.
Legitimizing a dictator.
Is it racist to give a black president a white turkey?
Obama Makes Last-Ditch Effort To Save Turkey
It’s okay. He’s half-white so I hear.
Ouch! That smarts!
LOL!
I thought John Kerry was picking up our turkey in Iran this Thanksgiving.
I hope the White House chef loses the wish bone after he roasts the Obama family turkey. It's the last thing in the world we want Barack to get his hands on.
Leni
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