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How a bird that stood in traffic captivated, united—and divided a town

#1
C C Offline
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...ic/535632/

EXCERPT: [...] As 2016 gave way to 2017, a turkey moved into the left turn lane of a major intersection in my hometown. [...] once he was there, he was there to stay. When he wasn’t in the street, he rarely strayed far from the nearby corner that he’d decided to make his home. [...] The turkey’s constant presence in this busy spot made him a local celebrity, and the unlikely, or perhaps inevitable, epicenter of a community in which humanity’s best and worst instincts played out.

[...] “I can’t explain the phenomenon,” Gray said. “Why everyone—including myself—has spent and committed so much time and effort to a wild turkey. I don’t think anyone’s been able to identify what the magic glue was that held everybody together.”

It is a little hard to explain. The intense enthusiasm Whittaker engendered may seem out of proportion with the experience of occasionally seeing a turkey out your car window. The whole thing reminds me of Li’l Sebastian from Parks and Recreation—on the show, the entire fictional town of Pawnee is enamored of and starstruck by this miniature pony, Li’l Sebastian, who is treated like a hero despite not appearing particularly exceptional. And people from outside of Pawnee are extremely confused and don’t see the appeal. For a while, during the reign of Whittaker, Ypsilanti became Pawnee.

[...] The conflict escalated when Whittaker met his inevitable end. Though he lived longer than any bird that spends a large part of its time in the middle of the street could be expected to, Whittaker was hit by a car on July 3, and euthanized that evening. [...] Many people said that they still look for the turkey every time they pass through the intersection, and there’s talk of buying a commemorative statue to place there, but for now the corner is quiet....
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#4
confused2 Offline
That was Junior A. Junior B would have walked everywhere if mum hadn't bullied her into flying.
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