Thanksgiving turkey pardon: When one mom told Bush to pardon a pig
(Read article summary)Thanksgiving turkey was not the authentic original dinner. And when a mom debunked the idea, she came literally head to head with President Bush trying to set the record straight and get a pig pardoned instead of a turkey.
NORFOLK, Va.
Today, Thanksgiving is all about the bird, but the holiday was created by President Abraham Lincoln after a failed attempt at secession and civil war left the nation in need of reunification. Though the real first Thanksgiving took place in Virginia, history and holidays were altered from south to north and ham to turkey in an effort to heal an angry nation under God and at the dinner table.
At our house, the holiday was altered yet again when my sons and I tried to set the record straight and ended up with a smorgasbord, vegetarian holiday instead. When we talk turkey, we really have a story to tell.
Every November, my sons begin to talk about the year they and Mom tried to get then-President George W. Bush to pardon a pig instead of a turkey to make up for Mr. Lincoln’s choice. We got a mayor to ride a Harley hog, a principal to kiss a pig, 6,000 school children to sign a petition and I, the mommy, got head-butted by the Commander-in-Chief in front of my kids and the Associated Press, thus altering our holiday meal and perception of national holidays forever after.
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