Cold Turkey

Why did the turkeys cross the road?

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How on earth would I know? They aren’t exactly the most brilliant species alive…

Turkeys of course are a reminder of fall, although they abound in this area all through the year. We have even had one wander into our fenced in back yard, barely able to flap itself over the fence and into the neighbor’s domain.

But I have to admit that I am not a lover of autumn. Despite the beauty, for me there is a depressing feeling — of death (albeit leaves, plants and turf) and the idea of the wicked winter just around the corner. I don’t mind the winter, once it has arrived. But the ominous feeling of a chill in the air — that in between feeling, is what gets to me.

Perhaps as the psychologists think, it all reverts back to childhood — with little Steve proclaiming his disbelief in gods, and unwillingness to attend synagogue on the Jewish High Holidays. The truth is, I don’t really know why, but I succumb to a general uneasiness that sets in every fall.

So to counter the sinking feeling, here are a few (iPhone-quality) pictures of my favorite nearby weekend haunt, Lake Zorinsky in Omaha.

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About Steve Caplan

I am a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska where I mentor a group of students, postdoctoral fellows and researchers working on endocytic protein trafficking. My first lablit novel, "Matter Over Mind," is about a biomedical researcher seeking tenure and struggling to overcome the consequences of growing up with a parent suffering from bipolar disorder. Lablit novel #2, "Welcome Home, Sir," published by Anaphora Literary Press, deals with a hypochondriac principal investigator whose service in the army and post-traumatic stress disorder actually prepare him well for academic, but not personal success. Novel #3, "A Degree of Betrayal," is an academic murder mystery. "Saving One" is my most recent novel set at the National Institutes of Health. Now IN PRESS: Today's Curiosity is Tomorrow's Cure: The Case for Basic Biomedical Research (CRC PRESS, 2021). https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B006CSULBW? All views expressed are my own, of course--after all, I hate advertising.
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5 Responses to Cold Turkey

  1. I love wild turkeys. Don’t see them enough, but they do live in Southern Ontario, having been re-stocked after being pretty much hunted out. I did see one fly straight up into a very tall tree to roost once, making a tremendous clatter as it did so.

    I get what you say about fall… something melancholy in the air.

  2. Steve Caplan says:

    You’ve nailed it exactly — melancholy in the air!

    As for the turkeys — there are occasional traffic jams as they wander across a street and just “hang and gobble out!”

  3. bean-mom says:

    We sometimes see wild turkeys in our backyard, too!

    And actually, I love the melancholy “in-between” feeling of fall.

  4. Cath@VWXYNot? says:

    I don’t feel the melancholy too much – I seem to pick up more on the “back-to-school” sense of purpose in the air. It helps that we’re having the driest, sunniest September and October in recent memory around here – it’s absolutely gorgeous!

    While I type this, our basement suite tenant has a turkey in the oven and the smells (and the sounds of gravy-making technique-based arguments with his mum) are wafting up through the air vents. Our turn tomorrow… happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

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