Kill Da Turkeys

A reader writes:

I'm certainly no fan of Gov. Palin's, but the widespread reaction to the turkey-slaughter backdrop -- the horror, the horror! -- is pretty amusing to me. See, when I was 14, I took a job at a turkey farm near my parents' house. Part of the job included working in the slaughterhouse. I didn't kill the birds myself, but I was privileged to yank out their still-warm innards with my bare hands. This tends to shock people when they find out -- they can't hide the disgust that flashes across their faces. Yes, it was truly disgusting. But all these people are excited to sit down to their piping-hot turkey dinners next week! That food has to come from somewhere.

In fact, the week before Thanksgiving, I always spend a moment remembering my old friends at the turkey farm, knowing they're out there in the slaughterhouse working 10-hour days, Sunday through Saturday, in preparation for the rush next week. I've worked all kinds of jobs since then, and that one was far from the worst. My co-workers were good people who worked hard, and the result of our labor was to play an integral part in thousands of people's holidays. Yeah, there's blood involved. But also a lot of heart.