First Annual Amish Classic Turkey Trot

In my previous post i mentioned where we currently are, the armpit of Amish Country, more exactly, in a house on a hill just off Tater Road, turning right off Greasy Gravy Lane. (i am not making this up folks.)

I realize that the epitome of Thanksgiving, for most in this country, stands on the vast consumption of turkey, its lesser known sidekick dishes and as the name reveals, giving thanks. For me, i'd like to add to that pyramid: The Turkey Trot. Most major cities host the race. Cities such as Denver, Indianapolis, and a random town in Arkansas have it every year, rain or snow. The small town of Paoli, Indiana however does not. I kinda see why. Being that the majority of its inhabitants are horse and buggy riding, cow and goat milking, farming, sheep shearing personages i highly doubted they would rally for a race with the same zest as they would for a barn raising. They already choose to work a little harder for the basic comforts of life. I can't quite see them out there in their beards, bonnets and black dresses filing up to the starting line for a 5k. I understood. I still wanted a race.

Paul and i got up Thursday morning and promptly put on our exercise duds. Steven, our brother-in-law, greeted me with, "Who would want to run when they could sit?" I retorted with, "Who would want to sit when they could run." (I secretly understood his point.) We stepped outside and the wind greeted us with the chilly blast to the face. Tradition has gotta start somewhere so we headed toward Tater Road.

Our pace came nowhere close to say, a, performance enhanced Marion Jones but it was a beautifully crisp Thanksgiving day and we were running our Turkey Trot. We had thought we might run the country block but after about 2 1/2 kilometers we weren't coming to any crossroads so after a couple more trots we pulled a 180 and headed back to mashed potatoes, fresh cranberry sauce, steamed veggies and a very large hunk of triptophan in the oven. Who, less than 3 days ago, was running his own little trot in a very well cared for farmyard.