We can learn many helpful facts about living with chronic pain from the Thanksgiving turkey, such as:

Beauty isn’t everything.

Having a big breast will get you attention, but it may not necessarily be the right kind.

Skinny legs can support the largest breast. A bird who can’t fly is more pathetic than just about anything…like us who are grounded. Living a long time is relative, yet important. The older you get, the tougher you get.

If you don’t have enough sense to “come in out of the rain,” or take care of yourself, you are a turkey, indeed. I can’t speak for you, but I don’t want to be one of those creatures whose fate is sealed.

When we die, I don’t want it to be from anything we could have prevented…onward to the treadmill. We want to be able to outrun “the ax.”

Hens have more fat cells than toms; therefore, we have to exercise to keep our weight down. Skinny legs make you look thinner and help you run faster if at all, so it’s back to the treadmill for us.

Eating habits of childhood follow you through adulthood…if you let them. During one’s lifetime, you and I will consume many times our weight in food. Where is that treadmill?

You are what you eat. You don’t have to eat everything that’s put in front of you. A little grit is a good thing; it reminds us life is not perfect.

Everyone should drink plenty of water.

If you become too fat, you will be chosen to die sooner than a skinny “turkey.”

Life is all too short for a turkey. I wonder what they do as a substitute for “smelling the roses.” A turkey pen isn’t exactly a rose garden.

It doesn’t matter what the “flock” is doing. You have to be true to yourself. Nothing good comes from panic, except a few broken wings or wishes.

If you can’t be your own person, you may have to leave the “flock” behind.

Too much confinement leads to “pecking;” therefore, we need to get out more. “Pecking” is painful.

Others won’t like you if you “peck” at them. If you “peck” or complain too much, you may break your own “beak” or find yourself all alone. Thank God you and I have brains that are larger than a grape. We can take charge of our lives to a certain extent. Treadmill here we come. It pays to have thumbs.

If you roll in dirt, you may catch something. If you defecate where you live, you will have to walk in it. A clean pen is a healthy pen and keeps depression away.

All the “gobbling” and “squawking” in the world won’t change your fate Too much brooding isn’t good.

Too many hormones are a bad thing. They still don’t know all the side effects; therefore, a little less prednisone is always good.

There is after death. When you die, your friends and family will gather “round” you. You will be all “dressed out.” You will be breast up. There will be a large “party,” and everyone will eat too much. Others should have tender memories of you, not tough ones. You are successful if you “leave a good taste” in the memories of those who knew you. We should give more thought to the kind of “leftovers” we will leave behind.