Why did the Turkey Cross the Road

Well, because he had been sub-contracted by the Chicken who was busy!...

The Chicken was laying back in his hot-tub watching HD sports on his new big-screen plazma TV while drinking a mojito and having an animated discussion on his cell phone. He was busy negotiating a new contract with the people at Kellogs for their continued use of his image as the public face for CornFlakes.
Many years ago, the Chicken had started out small with the entry level "road crossing" opportunity. And over the years, he'd managed to work it up into some higher profile contracts and these days it had grown to the point where he was now constantly working with big multinationals.Quite the achievement to be sure, but after so many years of building the business, he felt that he had worked and sweated "for the man" for long enough and it was now time for him to "get his share".
So he was squeezing just as hard as he could at both ends...

You see, in the early years the chicken (before he had become "The Chicken") had just been an honest working Joe and had just been trying to do the best he could for himself with the limited oportunities life had afforded him... Actually, these days, he felt that he had in fact been a complete chump! - The big multinationals had seen him coming and had taken maximum advantage... It'd gone on for years, but the Chicken wasnt completely stupid... Over the years he had watched and learned, and he had been building his "value proposition" and his "competetive advantage" and now, he was going to make the most of it!... So, he used his leverage to squeeze the cereal company for every last benefit and option and endorsement opportunity he could, and now the new contract would set him up for even bigger opportunities he was sure!

At the other end, he had now outsourced the "road crossing" job to some other "hic" from the back woods ... Actually, the turkey reminded the Chicken a lot of himself as a kid... But he wasnt going to let that get him all sympathetic or soft! - No Sir, he was going to squeeze that chump just as hard as he could too... Thats what he had had to go through, so why not the next guy?
And the Chicken was gonna watch the turkey closely too... The old "road crossing" lark was still a good earner... Never let someone else get control of your assets! ... You dont get to be a "Walmart" by going easy on people!

All in all, life was starting to look good for the Chicken...
Sure he was busy and tired and lonely, And sure the thrills of all the high-tech gadgets, and the drugs, and the young "chicks" at his beck and call were feeling just a bit empty and getting a bit dull these days... But he was right on the edge of really "Making it"! ... He could just feeeel it!


For his part, the turkey had always been pretty happy just rooting around in the bush and raising his family. But then the bush had been purchased (The turkey had never even considered that the land he lived on could be taken away from him and his family... It was all a mystery to him, the politics of big business and property development etc.) by the wealthy neighbouring chicken village... And they had cleared the land and subdivided it all up into these very clean and orderly little pens. And so there was no bush to live in and no way to look after his family...So, the turkey had signed a "contract" as they called it, that let him and his family have a small place to live and some food to eat and in return, the turkey had to spend his days away from his family doing the incredibly mundane and seemingly pointless task of "crossing the road".
The turkey wasnt happy but he made himself do it because he loved his family and had just had to look after them some how...never mind the risks of working in noisy poluted urban areas with a high probability that he would eventually become a "road statistic".
The turkey tried to stay hopeful, and rather than focus on the life that he had lost, he chose to try to look to the possibilities of the future... There were some larger properties that the Chicken had pointed out he might be able to live in (if he did well and the "return on investment" from the road crossing job were high enough) It wasnt perfect but the larger space reminded the turkey of his former freedom.. So he kept at it...
And actually, he had seen all the fun and power and freedom that the Chicken had, and he was starting to see the possibilities in the new way of life... If the Chicken could do it then why couldnt he?  :)


So, thats more or less the state of the Chicken and the turkeys world at the present. Who knows where it will go from here? Maybe the Chicken will finally reach "the Big time" and be happy, and maybe the turkey will make it too and get to be "the Turkey"...





...... actually sometimes I look at my own life and I too feel like Ive been a bit of a "turkey" but Im hoping there are some other choices that I can make... But just like the turkey, I cant tell where it will go from here and all I can really do is try to keep growing and keep going! ;)