By Melinda Bates
Melind Bates in The White House Rose Garden with the lucky turkey who got pardoned on Thanksgiving by President Bill Clinton
That’s me in the picture there, and you may wonder why I’m petting a turkey. Good question! (‘Cause, you know, who does that? Not to mention, isn’t that the biggest turkey you’ve ever seen?) Well, that’s not just ANY turkey. That’s the official, White House turkey! You’ve probably seen a video clip of a President smiling, laying his hand on a humongous white bird and officially “pardoning” it, as the beginning of Thanksgiving.
This happens every year in the White House Rose Garden, and there I am, just before President Bill Clinton steps out of the Oval Office (far left corner) to honor this tradition.
Why am I there? That’s another good question. I’m there because my office, for all eight years of the Clinton administration, was just across the House in the East Wing. Every morning I’d see the President’s schedule for official events. So, when the President was doing something fun and interesting, I’d walk on over to watch. Just one of the incredible perks of being a Special Assistant to the President and Director, White House Visitors Office – and of being a lifelong friend of Bill.
For this particular event, the turkey farmer selected brings a van with not one, but two of these huge birds. Why two? Because 1) the birds are so darn top-heavy you never know if or when they might just topple over and lie there with their little feet in the air (NOT a great visual for TV) and 2) you also never know when they might keel over from the sheer excitement and stress of the moment, and then you’d have a DEAD turkey for the shot, and that would be horrible! So there’s always a back-up turkey. Just in case. And POTUS pardons it, and it goes off to live in a petting zoo somewhere. Probably just as well. I always thought there could be no natural way to grow a turkey that size. read more »
