It all started with a turkey. Just a simple, wild turkey who loved to hang out by the side of the highway just north of my hometown. He was there for about a year before someone made that first post in a community group for ladies in my town… “Hey, has anyone else seen that turkey on the highway?”

Shortly after that post, Tom (or Jake, or Tomosina, or any of the other names he collected from kids and adults alike as they’d drive past) got his own Facebook group… the other groups started getting angry that chats about school board issues, local events and businesses, and community interest posts were buried under reports about the turkey. It was time to make sure that Tom had his own safe space.

It didn’t take long for the group to grow. 100. 300. 500. 1,000 members in mere days. Everyone wanted updates on this crazy roadside bird.

And then the unthinkable happened… one day, after a year of lurking around the highway, Tom the Turkey died. It was likely just a big tragic accident, but it was devastating to pretty much everyone in the group. So devastating, in fact, that the local Kennel got permits to remove him from the road, cremate him, and spread his ashes along the highway he so loved.

But I don’t think anyone could have imagined what would happen after Tom the Turkey passed away. After all, you’d think that once the main point of Tom’s facebook group had passed away, the group would go away, too, right?

Then, driving down the highway, we saw it. Someone had placed a Turkey Decoy, in memory of Tom, along the highway he loved to roam. And then hours later, there were flowers. And then a pumpkin. And then a ribbon. And then cards and letters and pictures.

Tom was the embodiment of so many things to the people of our town, that letting him pass away without a significant tribute seemed to fail everything Tom stood for. So, we had a memorial food drive for Tom.

So many people loved Tom so much that our local food pantry was restocked, and given over $100 to fill any gaps. People came out in droves to support Tom the Turkey and our local food pantry, leading to a massive outpouring of love and support.

Since then, in Tom’s memory, multiple service projects have been started– everything from Christmas cards to the troops to Christmas baskets for seniors. While those things might seem completely unrelated to a roadside turkey, they really aren’t when you think about it.

Hope. Community. Love. A reminder to reflect on the little things. Relief. Memory. Compassion. Humor. These are all things that people said Tom meant to them. These are all things that people felt when they saw Tom, or thought of Tom. And when I think of all of the good that has come from a crazy roadside turkey, I can’t help but agree.

Tom meant a different person to every person in his group– he showed us all kinds of things about who he was as a turkey, but moreso he showed us who we were as people, and who we were as a community. He connected us… we all bonded because of a turkey, and stayed together to keep sharing ways to keep those feelings Tom gave us– to help each other and those in our community to still feel those feelings of hope, community, love, compassion…

In that short month between the first Facebook post noticing him, and his passing, Tom gave us a gift… a gift of connection, unity, and love. A gift that allowed us to bless others. It’s the time of year where a lot of turkeys end up on a Thanksgiving table. In fact, there will likely be a turkey on my own table. But it’s now that I remember the true meaning of Thanksgiving– thankfulness– and I’m thankful. I’m thankful for a turkey that won’t be appearing on anyone’s Thanksgiving table this year, a turkey who taught our town what it means to love one another, and to remember the little things.

Thank you, Tom. We won’t forget you.