Its not often that I can be found cowering under a blanket in front of the television. Yet there I hid earlier this week as MSNBC showed an unfiltered version of the great Alaska turkey slaughter of 2008. Compare that to the scene a few weeks ago when I stomped on the brakes to watch the local herd of wild turkeys crossing the road near my house.

I'm a city boy, born and raised in Philadelphia. I've lived in city of brotherly love, Brooklyn and Washington, DC. For a little while, I lived in Takoma Park, Maryland, one of the nation's first suburbs, and, for an even shorter time, I rented a small house in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island's scenic north shore.

All of that to say that before moving to Solebury, PA, I had never seen a single wild turkey, let alone an entire herd of them. (Yes, I know that turkeys flock. But a herd sounds more poetic somehow.) For the last several years, though, I've had the pleasure of watching the local turkeys parade around our neighborhood. The photo below is from the Wikipedia entry on wild turkeys.)

And parade they do. Usually you'll see the turkeys walking single file even when in the spring when they've got their chicks with them. No matter how many times I've seen the turkeys in recent years, I'm still in awe whenever they cross my path. (I'll admit that I'm an easy customer; I still even like watching the neighborhood deer.)

Contrast that with the scene behind Sarah Palin, where a smiling worker fed live turkeys into some kind of slaughtering machine. The governor of Alaska -- the only state, according to Wikipedia, where the hunting of wild turkey is prohibited -- seemed oblivious to the killing behind her and even talks about how much "fun" she's had.

I was inspired to write this today by an email last night from Bruce Friedrich at PETA who posted the top ten reasons to be pardon a turkey on Huffington Post. As usual with my good friends at PETA, I thought a couple of Bruce's ten reasons went just a bit too far. But this one spoke to me:

If you wouldn't eat your cat, you shouldn't eat a turkey. As poultry scientist Tom Savage says, "I've always viewed turkeys as smart animals with personality and character, and keen awareness of their surroundings. The 'dumb' tag simply doesn't fit." They're as interesting and have personalities every bit as developed as any dog or cat.

When they're not forced to live on filthy factory farms, turkeys spend their days caring for their young, building nests, foraging for food, taking dustbaths, preening themselves, and roosting high in trees. These social, playful birds relish having their feathers stroked and like to chirp, cluck, and gobble along to their favorite tunes.

So since I wouldn't eat my cat, I'll decline the turkey tomorrow. And give thanks for the Quorn roast I bought last week after searching in vain for my annual tofurkey. Here's hoping that your Thanksgiving is as enjoyable and as cruelty free.