Turkey Leg

A couple of years ago I attended the Topsfield Fair with two of my best friends. It was very crowded and we waited in a long line to park and get through the front gate. The fair seemed enormous; farm animals, vegetable exhibits, rides, ripoff games, kiosks, an ice sculpture, and even a miniature museum dotted the landscape. As is typical with rural fairs, there were a large number of food stations serving the same overpriced food.

We saw a man walk past who was chomping on an enormous slow-roasted turkey leg. I didn’t think much of it, but one of my friends started salivating. We looked around for the source of this delicious turkey leg but all we saw were hordes of teenagers who seemingly had nothing better to do. My other friend was excited to go on the Ferris wheel so I shrugged my shoulders and lined up with her.

We didn’t see our first friend for the next two hours. He was on a hunt for his delicious turkey leg and we weren’t going to stop him. We thought he was nuts. Every second kiosk was selling chicken tenders, doughboys or processed french fries. While scouring the fairground for his culinary delight, we figured he was missing out on everything else. He didn’t play many of the games and I’m not sure if he made it on any of the rides.

When we finally found him just before closing time, he was chowing down on a turkey leg of his own. I still have no idea where he found it. We berated him for ditching us and told him about what he missed, but I don’t think it really mattered. I saw the look on his face when he cradled his prize and took the next juicy bite. He fulfilled his quest and had the best time of us all that night.

s.d.