The Tale of the Traveling Turkey

Last July, I found myself explaining to a TSA officer why I had a turkey in my backpack. “It’s not real,” I assured him, sweating at the thought of losing it after all the trouble it took to get it to our Atlanta showroom for Market Week. I swear I would have broken down and cried.

After 41 years, I still end up hand-carrying props or Annieglass on flights. I have maneuvered samples through airports, convention centers and hotels using everything from surfboard bags to strollers. This time, my carry on was a very realistic roast turkey in a stylish gold backpack. The turkey was meant to showcase our new platter design, but shipping mishaps sent it on a 5,000-mile detour. My daughter Ava calls it “user error” while looking directly at me.

The turkey finally arrived, costing more than the platter itself with all the overnight shipping charges. It worked wonders, though, helping us sell a record number of platters. When the show ended, I asked Ava and our buyer, Devin, to bring the turkey home. No one would see it once we closed our showroom until the next show. They didn’t know flights were canceled due to a Microsoft glitch, stranding them and the turkey for two days in the Atlanta airport.

Ava got odd looks from a TSA agent as he said “Mam’ is that a turkey you got in there?” She managed to explain the turkey was work-related. Now, she hopes the turkey can retire peacefully in our company store. With 11,000 miles under its belt, maybe it deserves its own frequent flyer account!

Or just maybe it will give an appearance at the January show.