The Turkey From Hell Survived The Winter. What Were The Chances Of That Happening?

Last year, I became attracted to running, much like Colleen at Chasing Ray. Though in my case, we're probably talking more about gentle jogging. In intervals. I didn't get very far with it and gave the walk/run thing up altogether toward fall because of various kinds of pain. But then I started doing around ten minutes of yoga three or four times a week, and yoga cures everything. Plus, I read some things lately that suggested I might have been doing something wrong. So I'm giving it another shot this spring.

I was out in the street for the first time this morning, doing my little running intervals, which are built not around time but around flat sections of road. I get to the end of the street, and I'm on my way back when I suddenly remember...the flippin' turkey. We'd seen it just a couple of weeks ago forcing a car to back down a driveway. And I was right in its stomping ground.

I didn't see anything, but, sure enough, just a minute or so later, I hear it gobbling. There it is, in the driveway it often takes over, along with its sidekick. (Seriously, if I lived in that house, I would have eaten that thing by now. Yum, yum.) I casually cross the road and start looking for something I can use for a jang bong and try to control my breathing in case turkeys can smell fear. No problem today, though. Wild Tom had other things on his mind, and I was able to finish my trip in peace.

Now, I'm sure some may think it odd that a person who has had nearly seven years of martial arts training would feel this much anxiety over the prospect of a run-in with a bird. I'd just like to point out, though, that this thing is one hell of a big bird. (Did I mention that I saw it take on a car a couple of weeks ago?) On top of that, I was instructed that the best opening move in a conflict is a roundhouse kick to the thigh, and the reason it's a good opener is that you're hoping to hit some nerve that runs down the leg. (That's what I was told in the dojang, but these guys aren't M.D.s.) Do turkeys have a nerve running down their legs? I'm not betting my life on it.

By the way, the wild turkeys on our street already made their way into A Girl, a Boy, and Three Robbers. Wild Tom is going to appear in the 365 Story Project, and this morning I started thinking about including these turkey incidents in one of my black belt essays. (Another project on a back burner.)

Today's Training Report: Two pieces for the 365 Story Project, plus one over the weekend. While I'm not catching up, at least I'm not falling further behind. I also did the short bio for the press kit we're working on for my website and half the long bio.