Corn and Cob Have a Presidential Pardon, however

- - -  many of the rest of the flock were roasted at 325° until done. Of course, I'm talking about a few

                           Wild Turkey along the Trinity River Basin near the Medical District

turkeys---animals. It happens every year. We humans have a name for it---well, at least for Corn and Cob. They are now officially: Rescued Turkeys. I find no small bit of humor in that. There are 200,000 pets who are referred to as rescue animals but the fact of the matter is that many will not ever find "their forever home or family" or be pardoned like Corn and Cob. The pandemic has kept 13% of the one million plus animals in shelters from being rescued this year. Rescues finding new homes are down that much.

Meanwhile, Corn and Cob will live out their days at a university farm in Iowa. At least, they will get a lot of corn kernels and might even get lucky to have some wheat grain from time to time. In short, they both have a lot to be thankful for this year. More than their fellow turkeys or their canine friends who hunt their fellow cousins,the free and wild turkeys that roam the edge of forest and corn fields. Their feline friends waiting to be rescued don't have as much of a complicated past. But, they need to be rescued also. 

The point is, even we humans are just a part of the food chain. I have always believed that each cell, be it human, animal, fowl and more, is just a  smaller part of a bigger picture we cannot comprehend overall. Our minds are not ready for that now, if ever.  

This is the first year that I have not cooked a full turkey in 20-years. Still, I had a full traditional meal downsized to be grateful and to he thankful. For several years I was always missing something from times past and just could not put my finger on what it was. Then, through a mix up in a grocery delivery restored by original choice, that item, as well as those cut short because of a system failure, was delivered the following day after marking more than half my order the day before as "out of stock".  

Nearly a month ago, I had ordered in a 3-pound frozen turkey breast, green beans, potatoes to be cooked and smashed to perfection later on in the month, cranberry sauce, and a few other items. So, I had anticipated something like a malfunction happening along the way. The small fill in order was for a fresh pumpkin pie and another item that turned out to be that item I had been missing for years and couldn't account for the longing to have that missing mystery item.

On Thanksgiving morning when I started to pull together the kitchen order of the day, the mystery item revealed itself to me. Instantly, I was smiles from ear to ear and as my dear cat had heard me say from year to year before her passing several years ago and when I would talk to here over such happenings, " There it is!"  That

smell of yeast rising throughout the house once again. Mystery item identified by smell.

Since coming home from the hospital, I have cut out bread altogether but I had already decided that on Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, I would have home baked yeast rolls to go with my meal. My grandmother could do wonders with yeast and rolls when I was growing up. I had long decided that she was responsible for my love of smelling that grand smell. As it radiated throughout my house,she had once again pointed me to what being thankful for is more than just a meal. It made my meal complete however. I still cook from scratch so planning meals is not a task for me. 💝 Christmas is coming and that smell of rising yeast rolls will again fill my house.💝 Merry Christmas Corn and Cob. You have escaped another table as centerpiece. Thank goodness!